Powerful beyond Measure
by BrokenHeartsWhispered
Summary: Ashley, still in high-school, goes with Aiden underage to Red, an LA hot spot. She meets Spencer, a confident school teacher, on the dance floor; that which follows is their long journey of getting to know each other. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Meeting

Red, the premiere gay bar of inner city L.A. was awash with employees briskly wandering to and fro from its entrances and back alleys; the bar staff began to stock the bar, the new shipment of liqueurs and spirits just having rolled off the truck, the burly bouncers left their usual posts to help unload the crates of booze, their muscles straining with the effort and the beating sun causing droplets of sweat to run in rivulets down their faces and to pool extravagantly in the craters separating clavicle from clavicle. The janitorial staff had split apart, groups of three squirreling away at different occupations; some began work in the bathrooms, sending the calm water of the toilets that lay still only momentarily, into angry swirls and bacterial fluid washed away any nuances, others employed themselves to wipe the blood red floors, sweeping and polishing until the tiles, on which their feet stood, appeared to be a scene of a mass murder, blood staining the gleaming floors.

The maintenance work was completed just as the blazing sun began to set, hiding its opulent body behind skyscrapers and a lavish landscape composed of hills and trees, plant-life that would be unidentifiable to inner city slickers. Red opened its huge black entrance doors a little after 9 and cocky, ambitious teenagers were immediately rooted out by the experienced bouncers without even a glance at carefully copied ID's.

Ashley leaned casually against the bar as Aiden bought her another drink, "G and T, okay with you honey?" he asked, struggling in vain to keep his place near the front of the packed bar, all the while studiously avoiding the multitude of sharp elbows that always seemed to strike him where he lacked muscle which, it must be noted, did not include many areas. Drinks were two bucks until ten and he was determined to be as smashed as he could before the big hand reached double digits. He squinted furtively at his watch and, after catching sight of the time, hastened in his act of procuring a bartender. It was just turning nine thirty. "Sure, Aid. That's cool." Pausing in her contemplation of whether she should commit to a selfless act, she determined that Aiden deserved at least one night of friendly appearances from her; deciding upon this, she continued firmly with, "I'll get the next round or two, 'kay?" Aiden barely registered the words, his surprise merging into an urgent desire to flag down Tristan, who was currently sashaying his way. "Trist, dude, hook a brother up!"

Ashley chuckled at Aiden's stab at macho ghetto attitude. On a scale of one to ten, he hardly featured past one. She shook her head despairingly. It was somewhat pathetic because, in all honestly, they both knew that Aiden could never be more than a burly, camp-as-anything, basketball boy. "Aid, I'm gonna go sit over there," and without waiting for an answer from the tall, dark-haired recipient, Ashley sauntered majestically over to the centre booth and planted herself gracefully upon the plush, pleather cushioned bench. In a matter of seconds, hardly time for Ashley to put her purse on the table, Aiden was placing a black tray with six drinks within it. "Went all out this round, Aid." The camp boy smiled prettily and winked at his friend, "Trist threw in two freebies when he heard I was single." The boy then giggled in a manner that would have looked decidedly out of place anywhere but their current surroundings. "You'll be careful?" Ashley asked, always worrying distractedly about Aiden's flings with men that were rather unseemly looking. Aiden rolled his eyes at Ashley's protectiveness, "Duh, Ash. You can call off the dogs. Anyways, he doesn't get off 'til late, so you never know, sweetheart." Ashley nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself on that matter. Actually she did know.

Having heard that Tristan was looking, Ashley was sure that Aiden would never move from their present booth; eager to stay in Tristan's line of vision, so as to forestall any other guys potentially catching his attention. "Whatever you say, Aid." He smiled beatifically at her, "Love ya!" She shook her head at his antics and proceeded to down her first gin and tonic, the clear liquid quickly disappearing and being solely survived by a wilted lemon twist. "He put enough gin in it for you?" Aiden asked worriedly, always wanting to placate Ashley's gentler disposition. "Mmhmm, perfect." The gin concoction slipped and trickled its way down her throat, causing her to release a satisfied moan and briefly close her eyes. Her hand reached for the second, but was stopped by a large, caring hand resting upon hers.

"Ash..." she glared at him with a fierce gaze, brown orbs shining with immense emotion. Anger lay at the forefront, like a fierce guard-dog to a vulnerable plywood door which hid the pain and anguish that generally followed disagreeable break-ups. The hand remained where it was, and there it stayed for another five or ten minutes, Aiden was unsure of the time due to his quickly approaching, yet heavily desired, intoxication. The hand lifted cautiously and set itself down beside an empty glass of what had previously contained vodka diluted by coke and ice. Ashley kept a wary eye on the hand that had covered her drink, and with all the stealth of a well-trained assassin, the tanned hand tightened its grasp on the cold glass and raised it to dark waiting lips. The liquid, which had been missed during the interim it had been prevented from being consumed within, once again moved like a fish that always manages to slip out of the aged fisherman's hands, flapping it's fins uselessly against calloused skin, using the momentum and lubrication of water to quickly slide back home.

"Ash, you know...Paige could never have been good for you." Ashley slammed her glass down with some force, "Shut it, Aid. I don't wanna hear it," she slurred pathetically. Glossy eyes glared at him with angry resentment. "You don' know a thing," she punctuated this sentence with a drunken wave of her empty glass, "so don' even try an' tell me wass what" Aiden turned away with a shake of his head, "Fine, fine." He returned, keeping his speech to a minimum so as to prevent any embarrassing drunken slurring, having seen the effects of said slurring with Ashley.

"You don' know shit." Ashley replied to no-one, taking a sip of her final gin and tonic. Turning her nose up in disgust, she rose with great dignity, especially considering her gradually deepening intoxication. "I'm gonna get a lye..ligh..lighter drink." Aiden nodded passively, his eyes not having moved from Tristan's busily moving form. Ashley approached the bar quickly and quickly caught Cat's arm, "Three Ices?" Cat nodded, quickly uncapping the bottles she passed them to Ashley. Grabbing the bottles, Ashley meandered her way back to Aiden, plopping her tired body down with a thump beside her well-muscled friend. "Ash?" he asked, already beginning to retreat to the end of the booth, in the event that he received the brunt of her wrath, "Mhmm?" she replied, sipping her drink with great dexterity. "Had anything else tonight?"

She gazed at him levelly, her eyes never falling loosely and without the previous droop of tired eyelids, as her pupils began to clear considerably. "No," she replied sighing, passing a slightly shaking hand over a wrinkled forehead. She paused, musing on whether to mention it. "Paige called, said she wanted to get back together." Aiden nodded, "She still with Alex?" Ashley confirmed this. "She wanted you _and_ her?" Again, Ashley nodded. Aiden raised a weary hand to his chin and stroked it with a fearful expression. "What did you say?" She returned her gaze to her bottle, a docile finger circling the rim of the bottle, gathering up the perspiration and watching it fall speedily from its prison with well-feigned interest. "No." Aiden's eyes gleamed and gave Ashley an unnoticed look that was so strong it was if angels had begun to herald her from on high, their flapping wings breaking through the cloud that had gradually begun to part from the strength of their song. "I'm proud." And he was. This Paige mess had torn Ashley apart. Maybe, this was going to be the start of a new Ashley. "Thanks, _dad_," Ashley replied, the first real smile of the night appearing like a ghost on her face, "glad I got your approval."

She sucked down the remnants of her drink and turned to Aiden. "You have that one, here's some money," which she punctuated by showering the table with a flurry of notes. "Buy yourself a round, or somethin'." She picked up the remaining bottle, "I'm gonna take this over by the square an' think 'bout no' killin' myself." She raised her bottle as if to toast him and wandered away. Aiden stared after her disappearing body, "Well, at least she left the gin," he mumbled to himself. Settling his hand around the neck of the Smirnoff, his eyes fell on the busy bartender, who was currently winking at another man. Scowling, he took his first sip from the bottle and began his wait.

Ashley, having successfully arrived at the dance square, proceeded to settle herself upon it. She threaded her way through various gyrating bodies and flailing arms, all the way tsking at the DJ's current track, "Damn pop singles, who does he think he is – the fucking promotion manager for Billboard?" she muttered to no-one in particular. A gap made itself known to her and she slipped past a wasted thirty year-old woman, who was demonstrating why alcohol and tap-dancing did not mix. Having seated herself, she watched with wry pleasure as some unlucky patron was speared in the eye by the tap-dancer's extremely animated hand gestures and with great control Ashley managed to stifle a laugh at the expression on the victim's face. The victim waved over Dave, the bouncer, who began to gently yet efficiently remove the far gone woman from the room; as he ambled past Ashley he slipped her wink having caught her wry smile directed at the woman. Ashley's eyes roamed around the room looking for someone, anyone, which looked even half-way decent. She was unsuccessful; unless you counted the man lounging at the bar who had given her a lecherous wink, having already allowed his beady eyes to devour her body greedily. _There's always one,_ Ashley thought.

A tall brunette approached her and unceremoniously landed beside Ashley. "You're hot." She stated with a sharp matter of fact tone, "Uh huh," Ashley replied, "interesting." The girl nodded, agreeing. "Can I have your number?" Ashley shrugged, "Sure," and proceeded to recall the digits. The girl stumbled off and Ashley smiled bemusedly after her. "Well, that was...unusual." Ashley's foot began to tap to the beat, and she felt the cool, calming rush of alcohol wash over her like tired waves reuniting with mistakenly bereaved sand. Ashley crossed her legs to prevent the ceaseless beat her foot was now creating against the floor.

She could have sat there for hours, or even days. She couldn't truly remember. A slight blonde walked towards her, appearing hazy as she parted the mist that had settled around the raised dance square due to the fully functioning smoke machines behind Ashley. She sat down beside Ashley without a word. The silence stretched on and unusually, it soon began to get on her was this woman, who could just sit down and not say anything? _Does she want me to say something? Is she shy, should I say something?_ Ashley was unsure of the protocol of these things. Usually a girl came right out with it, or Ashley would be lounging against a wall and some stranger would press herself against Ashley (words fairly unnecessary), take what they wanted and leave. This was different.

"Hi." Ashley's husky voice broke the confusing quiet aura that seemed to surround and encircle them in their own bubble of reality; it was a little rough due to the prolonged silence, causing Ashley to cough slightly so as to relieve the crackle. She took one of the final sips of her Smirnoff. "Hey," replied the nameless woman. No words followed this monosyllabic greeting. Ashley tried again, "Why aren't you dancing?" The young woman shrugged, not seeming to care. "No-one would dance with me." _Does she mean no-one would __**ever**__ dance with her, or that no-one __**will**__ dance with her? _Ashley pondered the two options but could not envisage how either could ever be true. "People are crazy bastards." The young woman shrugged non-committedly. Ashley's brown eyes roamed over the girl's body unashamedly taking in the well-defined curves, the shapely legs and the two round globes that were begging to be touched. She could almost sense the drool that was about to fall from her mouth due to the simple fact that this girl, this **woman** was one of the most beautiful females she had ever seen. _And I've seen a lot!_ Ashley held out her hand boldly, "I'm Ashley." The young woman smiled with gentle acceptance as she turned to face her mysterious dance square companion. "I'm Spencer." Ashley's eyes softened at the unveiling of Spencer's face. _Oh my god, she is drop dead gorgeous._ "Spencer, would you like to dance with me?" Spencer smiled sweetly at this stunning brunette who was clearly lowering her standards for the night, "I'd love to." Ashley gave a shy smile, and standing up, she allowed her small hand to slip in Spencer's paler one.

It has been said that after turtle doves find their mate, they are forever linked, bonded by heart, soul and mind to each other interminably, devoted to each other in ways that could never be replicated nor understood by those who wander through life surrounded by scores people yet so utterly alone; in this same manner, the easy fit of their hands and the subtle melding of light mocha latte and freshly churned buttermilk was one of the first of many, signs which perhaps suggested that these two were destined to meet.

Spencer stared in awe at this brazen, beautifully sexy younger woman who was taking control and pulling her gently onto the floor. In seconds she found herself tucked within the bronze arms of the bold brunette as they swayed to the slow song the DJ had eventually conceded to placing on the decks. Partially sober people all around the room began to pair off as the first notes flowed from the acoustic guitar. The melody wound and weaved itself throughout the room fusing hands of couples into one, and forcing them to assume the lightly seductive cadence. An eagerly dancing transvestite, who showed clear signs of possessing no rhythm whatsoever, happened to be grinding near Ashley; and, as if Fate had lain down a royal flush, Ashley's back ricocheted off an electric blue tube top covered body which pressed her hands against Spencer's fairly well-endowed chest.

Spencer hid her surprise well; the mere act of seeing this calm and collected teenager flush red and look adorably nervous as she quickly lowered her hands was not what she had expected in the slightest. Ashley's mouth opened to stumble over multiple apologetic phrases but she was stopped by a simple look from Spencer's sympathetic eyes. Spencer's lips parted, slowly she allowed herself to lean closer to her partner, her mouth hovering ever so slightly over an ear to whisper tenderly, "It's okay." The straightforward words evidently were not programmed to have straightforward effects upon Ashley; a sliver of desire raced down from her occupied ear to her severely anaesthetized nether regions as Spencer's breathy words wrapped themselves around her libido and yanked it vertically. Up until now, thoughts of Paige had been having very different effects on said nether regions thus they had been lulled into a false sense of security. The impact of Spencer's soft voice awakening the long-forgotten butterflies that had thrived within her with that first crush, her hands lightly resting on Ashley's waist as if to maintain the distance between them, her bashful yet mischievous eyes that never moved from Ashley's; these things and more, which were Spencer in a nutshell, crushed the hope of Ashley's concupiscence taking a well earned rest. The furnace was relit, albeit reluctantly, and flames sparked from the pit of Ashley's core and rocketed skywards leaving only a rain of carelessly discarded embers in its wake.

It was only Ashley's unbelievably powerful strength of will that prevented her mouth from slipping open and releasing the moan of desire that Spencer's careful touch had caused. Gathering all her remaining restraint, Ashley forced her libido to retreat, allowing her indifferent exterior to gradually enfold her again. Spencer could sense Ashley's apathy casting a cape of darkness over any of the diminutive emotions it had unexpectedly bared to the blonde.

Somewhere deep inside of her, she had begun to believe that just maybe Ashley, someone so characteristically appealing, would deign to be interested in her; secretly, she had longed for a chance with the nonchalant brunette who had seated herself so decadently upon the square; bleary, whiskey colored eyes gazing out with clear disinterest at any of the people they landed upon.

Out of the blue, a girl had approached her and Spencer had been unable to repress the jealousy at the ease in which the newcomer had conversed with Ashley. Usually friendly blue eyes had darkened to an envious violet as the shy blonde had watched the other brunette whip out her cell phone, apparently recording Ashley's number; to Spencer's obvious surprise, after having gained a piece of Ashley, the brunette stood up and stumbled drunkenly towards the other end of the room. Spencer had been amazed at how quickly the aforementioned events had played out before her.

She had then gone on to blatantly absorb the image of the brunette before her. Long, chestnut hair, artistically colored with fire engine red throughout, collected on tanned shoulders; these were bare due to the fashionable gray halter top, its ties clasping fearfully to a slim, unadorned neck, helpfully providing support to her prominent chest. A black mini skirt was unable to hide long, muscled legs which spiraled eventually to crossed high-heeled feet. It was after this thoroughly arousing voyeuristic act that Spencer gulped the remainder of her drink, prayed briefly to an unknown God and began her walk to the enticing girl who had unknowingly permitted her to break every rule she had lain down.

The song began to wind to the bridge as both girls pulled slightly away to look at each other. Hopeful, cornflower blue eyes met mysteriously glinting brown ones. Spencer leaned in and gently, not intrusively, almost curiously, pressed her lips to Ashley's. The manner in which the two lips clutched and clung to each other, like stubborn Velcro burrs to material that brushes accidentally against it was as if they had been doing it forever and could not contemplate life without one another. Spencer's arms moved to enclose Ashley's neck, allowing the pair to move closer while maintaining the delightful pressure of lip on lip.

Clichéd Hollywood movies would begin to mention about the fireworks that exploded in their heads, as their eyelids slipped shut in a moment of reverent pleasure. Pressed so tightly together that air was forced to pass around them, both women settled into the kiss; one with eventually relaxing muscles and the other with the happy assurance that maybe, just maybe, there was a God up there. Ashley having become resigned to the fact that her body could not resist Spencer's, warmed to the sensation of Spencer's lips against hers; the softness, the plush filling making it irresistible and, therefore, too hard to pull away even though she knew that by prolonging the delightful aura of Spencer she was heading towards deeper, less inviting waters.

The burning fire that spread through Spencer's body should have been a warning to pull away but she couldn't. Ashley was - Ashley was a drug that she had to have and she was abidingly addicted to with one touch. Ashley had become her unstoppable force. Her mind was flying and she felt like she would never come down, the young woman's soft presses and gentle touches were making her feel more desired than she had ever felt and she never wanted it to end. Somehow Ashley's outer exterior being almost the exact opposite of its inner self compelled Spencer to hold on tighter, and to press herself ever closer to her drug.

Spencer's teeth teasingly bit a gentle line into Ashley's lower lip, a silent plea for more. Ashley, unable to refuse the formidable older blonde, moaned softly at the touch allowing Spencer's tongue entrance to a never before visited territory. Spencer released a needful moan, which whispered its way over Ashley's lip, when Ashley's skilled tongue began to tease hers; appearing above, below and beside only to retreat swiftly as Spencer's eager tongue gave chase. A slick tongue roped another into a dangerous game and they began to wrestle for dominance.

That first clash of tongues seemed to spark the unspoken desire and they began to grope at each other; hands, fingers, lips, tongues all meshing together, fusing to become one. An unspoken agreement of how far it could or might go forgotten at that first touch as no longer were there boundaries to Ashley's soul or barriers behind Spencer's eyes. The touch had been the master key to anything that had held the couple back from allowing each other a simple glimpse of what lay behind the curtain and that brief glance of something, a nameless something, began to flatten and structurally right itself and thus started the slow process of melding the support for something new.

Ashley's hands drifted down Spencer's side, a stray finger sliding against the underside of her breast; a shallow moan uttered by Spencer, while she gasped for breath, emerged from the depths of her being at the tiny spark that flew from Ashley's finger to her breast. Ashley's hands sunk lower and lower abruptly stopping even in the passion before they began to near the treasure that neither woman were ready to plunder. Spencer's hands slipped upwards to caress Ashley's face, committing to memory every dip, every crest that mapped the brunette's beauty. The soft, lotioned pads of her fingers stroking the smooth skin, lightly rubbing over the smooth line of her nose and eliciting a low moan of content from Ashley; it was as if somebody had coughed to interrupt when they suddenly, in unison, pulled away from each other.

Around them the music had returned to the nonsensical, trance beats that Red's square was known for. Couples had broken apart and begun to dance with more gyrations, arms flailing, legs hopping in obscure motions. The two women who had recently broken apart were still looking at each other, both a little unsure of how to proceed. Spencer's hand tenderly stroked Ashley's jaw, Ashley pulled Spencer closer unable to have Spencer that close but still so far away. "So…" Spencer began, they both smiled shyly at the other, the underside of Ashley's jaw reddening. "Beautiful." Ashley whispered before she could stop herself. Spencer blushed adorably, Ashley's words full of such conviction and sincerity that her usual strong-handed hold over her emotions loosened and unclenched with confusion. Ashley dipped her head bashfully and Spencer was sure that she had never seen something so endearing.

"Hey," she whispered; Ashley's head raised slightly, brown eyes capturing blue, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say to that." Ashley paused and then shook her head, "I mean of course it's true, anyone with eyes could see that, I just I uh didn't mean to embarrass you ya know, not intentionally or whatever 'cause honestly I don't go out of my way to do this kind of thing, not that I'm inexperienced but that doesn't mean I'm a sl-" Her rambling speech stopped abruptly when an index and middle finger gently applied pressure to busy lips. "Ashley?" Ashley could feel herself blush and was suddenly glad that the lighting had dimmed. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Spencer's lips and watching them bunch together and contract away as they formed the simple syllables of her name was like watching soft porn, her voice whispered and tickled it's away across Ashley's body and she was suddenly irrationally furious at her mother for not having bestowed upon her a name with more syllables, _Damnit Christine why couldn't you have called me Alexandria or somethin'?_ She thought to herself angrily, mentally raging at her mother's 'thoughtlessness'.

"What's with these, pretty lady?" Spencer's breathy voice broke through her mind rant, and once again took over her mind. A pale hand seemed to emerge from nowhere and lightly began to smooth over the frown lines currently corrugating Ashley's forehead, "Turn that frown upside down, cutie." Ashley blushed, Spencer's hand warmed to the flushed skin, her smile softening at the sight of the adorable head-duck Ashley performed in an effort to hide her face.

"At the risk of coming on too strong..." Spencer paused, mulling over the potential disaster her preceding words could create, "would it be alright if I asked for your number?" Ashley smiled shyly, the cool that seemed to scare others away dissipating in the presence of the blonde woman, and nodded yet did not say anything; she remained staring at Spencer, oblivious to their surroundings. A pale eyebrow rose and whiskey colored eyes followed its ascent, missing the small smile that had formed when facial muscles had triumphed over the brain. "Your number?" Spencer repeated, still smirking. Ashley looked surprised, "My number?" A brief pause and then, as if the light bulb had gone off she repeated slightly louder, "My number! Oh yes, uhm" she blushed as she rattled of the digits. A thought occurred to her and she laughed. Having received a questioning look from Spencer, followed by the ever powerful eyebrow raise, she hurried to clarify while still giggling slightly, "Well, earlier this girl asked me for my number," Spencer frowned, knowing all too well which 'girl', the brunette was referring to, she focused back in on Ashley when she realized she was still speaking, "– gave her the wrong number, lucky her I guess." Ashley tailed off, not really knowing what else to say after having uttered the final self-deprecating remark. A soft, warm thumb made invisible circles against her cheek, "I would say, lucky me." Once again brown met blue, in a surreal representation of two elements becoming one, "Would you like to go outside for some air?" Spencer asked, her head tilting to the side slightly, an amused smile apparently becoming a permanent fixture in Ashley's presence. Ashley nodded, struck momentarily speechless by the smile the blonde directed at her.

High, cement walls that marked the structure of the club inside were decorated with numerous outdoor heaters providing enough warmth to the night air so as to prevent inebriated customers contracting hypothermia or pneumonia due to the sudden temperature change as they stepped outside. The club designers having come to the conclusion that after alcohol consumption and endless dancing, smokers who were eventually enticed outside would desire to be seated enjoying their cancer sticks rather than leaning rather unsteadily against the warm walls, thus sturdy, cushioned benches were placed strategically against the walls giving customers a well desired place to rest their intoxicated bodies.

With Ashley's hand firmly encased within hers, Spencer led the still somewhat off-kilter Ashley outside to sit on one of the benches closer to the door and took a lustful breath of the fresh, midnight air. Turning to observe Ashley in a better light, she barely suppressed the urge to moan at the sight of one the most enchanting girls she had ever laid eyes on. '_I thought she was hot inside but wow…' _Spencer thought, '_Words could never do her justice_'. Spencer's hand rifled playfully through waves that ran the gamut of brown shades, stretching to both sides of the spectrum from a healthy chestnut right down to the synthetically highlighted crimson. Ashley's head turned and eyes that threatened to speak volumes about their owner met with another pair of eyes that just might have been as emotionally insecure as those that belonged to the teen in front of them.

"Soo…" Spencer began, not really knowing what to say now that they had left the safety of the club. _'I'm so stupid; I should never have brought her out here. She probably thinks I'm just a dumb blonde or something,'_ Spencer sighed inwardly with irritation. Ashley seemed to awaken from her drunken haze when she realized that she had a beautiful blonde beside her and was probably letting her get away by remaining mute. "I don't usually do this you know." Ashley confided, winking at Spencer in an effort to reduce the tension. Spencer smiled, half with immense gratitude towards, half with amusement at the blatant lie. "Oh really?" Spencer replied, "So you usually come here for…what? The music?" Ashley laughed loudly catching the attention of a few onlookers, her merriment causing more than one to give her the once-over. Spencer could hardly contain a smile at the sound of Ashley's laugh, it was infectious and, like most facets of Ashley, unfailingly attractive.

When she had finally managed to reduce her enjoyment to a glowing smile, Ashley snorted, "Hardly, I could listen to this crap at Aid's house. Nah, I'm here for" she paused and gave a side-wards glance to the woman beside her, dark brown eyes lingering suggestively on pertinent body parts as they finally managed to make their way back to Spencer's face which was currently sporting the raised fair eyebrow; a sweet smile befell her face and she ducked shyly, '_What the fuck is wrong with me?'_ Ashley's inner voice yelled, _'What is it about this girl that gives me a complete personality make-over?'_ "Uhmm," she blushed, having already made finishing the sentence redundant with her open ogling. Spencer's smile widened, the young brunette was more than she could have hoped for, '_I'd never realized it was possible for someone to appear so completely unavailable while at the same time __**actually**__ be so utterly adorable._' "Oh so you're here for the scintillating conversations, _right_." Ashley rolled her eyes and allowed her head to fall into her hands and groaned. Spencer let loose a childish giggle and nudged Ashley's shoulder with hers in solidarity, "Oh come on, it's not that bad," she said sympathetically, laying a soothing hand on Ashley's wavy chestnut hair. "I've made an ass of myself," Ashley groaned, just letting brown eyes peek out at Spencer.

She was greeted by an amused smile, sparkling mischievous oceanic eyes that were going back and forth due to the movement of a blonde head, "Ashley, you haven't made an ass of yourself," she paused delicately, "actually, well," Ashley looked up at the second pause and was surprised to see the assertive blonde blushing and looking rather vulnerable. Spencer appeared to find some courage and met Ashley's eye with surety, almost daring Ashley to reject her. "I'm kind of having the time of my life…if that uhmm," another pause, a softer tone that Ashley had yet to associate with Spencer, which most would have found odd as the pitch that was being directed towards Ashley was one most commonly expected from Spencer, "if that means anything to you." Spencer turned her face away in embarrassment, having come to the conclusion that she had said just about enough and if she was to open her mouth again she probably would continue on with words that she would later regret.

Ashley sat up and crossed her legs at the knee, creating an inadvertent erotic display for lookers-on who had been observing the couple since their approach to the benches. Her head rested against Spencer's shoulder, the blonde head was still turned away. Ashley let her lips linger near the unintentionally proffered ear and whispered breathily, "I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't usually do this." She let her words sink in, and abandoning the idea that maybe she had offended the blonde she decided to forge on, "So go easy on me, if I fuck up." Ashley kissed Spencer playfully on the neck and whispered against slightly sweating skin, "'Cause I'm guaranteed to fuck up. But ya know," her tongue snaked out and swiped a clean line down Spencer's neck, "I can be really funny too," she continued releasing a light chuckle into the recently washed swatch of skin, "like uhmm… okay, if blind people wear dark glasses, why don't deaf people wear dark earmuffs? Actually no, that wasn't funny…but seriously why don't they?" There was slight silence as Ashley seemed to seriously contemplate this before getting back to the matter at hand, "Okay, funny, I can do funny. Okay I've got one, and if you don't laugh I'll tickle you," Ashley threatened, positioning her fingers against soft flesh.

"Ok, so two nuns and Mother Superior are at the gates of Heaven. Saint Peter's standing there waiting to let them in, he says to the first nun 'Just answer the question correctly and I'll let you in,' and she's like 'Ok then,' so he says 'What was the name of Jesus' mother?' and she rolls her eyes and says 'Mary', so he lets her in. The next nun comes up and he tells her the same thing and then asks, 'Where was Jesus born?' and she's like 'Duh, Bethlehem', and he lets her in too. Finally, Mother Superior approaches and he's like 'Ok you're Mother Superior, so obviously I've gotta make yours way harder,' so she agrees and he says, 'what was the first thing Eve said to Adam?' Mother Superior stands there stumped and then is like, 'That's a hard one!' and Peter says 'In you go,'."

While she had expected the joke to maybe, just _maybe_ make Spencer smile, she was thoroughly blown away when Spencer began to shake with barely contained mirth causing her back to rock against Ashley. A burst of laughter escaped soft lips and Spencer began to laugh, and laugh; just when it appeared she was about to finish, she would look at Ashley and begin to laugh uncontrollably again, tears streaming in rivulets down downy cheeks. Ashley left her hands where they were, enjoying the gentle play of Spencer's well-defined stomach muscles as they convulsed, like ripples in a disturbed pond, under her fingertips. She leaned back and settled in to watch Spencer's laughter in action, a satisfied smile firmly fixed on her face.

Unknown to the pair, a tall, ebony haired woman, a little younger than Spencer, was unable to keep her eyes of Ashley. Her frank perusal of the teenager had started when Ashley's laugh had turned her head and she had yet to turn green eyes away since that moment. However, unused to not being noticed she had decided that the time had come to make her presence known. She winked at her friends, knowing without a doubt that the brunette would be hers, and sashayed with a predatory gleam towards her unsuspecting victim.

Ashley barely registered the fact that someone had slid in beside her because her attention was so focused upon Spencer who, it seemed, had finally managed to stop laughing. She smiled tenderly at the blonde who was now still. Their eyes met, one pair shining with wet tears, the other shining with affection. "Guess I'm pretty damn funny, huh?" Spencer smiled, and shook her head nonchalantly, "Eh, I've heard funnier." That caused the brunette to smile, and her hand, acting upon its own volition, let go of the right side of Spencer's waist, released her thumb and allowed it to wipe away the tears that were coating Spencer's face. "There ya go," she said blushing for no reason. Spencer smiled, less teary-eyed this time, thanks to Ashley and nodded slightly, "Thanks." Ashley breathed a sigh of relief, having wondered whether Spencer would push her away.

Blue eyes glanced surreptitiously down at the tanned hand that was unconscientiously holding on to her waist and smirked, Ashley's other hand sat uselessly in her lap. _'Would she mind if I put it back on her waist? I mean are there boundaries or something here? Does she want me to take my other hand away? What do normal people do in this situation? God, this is so…juvenile.'_ Spencer rested her head on Ashley's shoulder, "So I know you're funny, your name's Ashley and…that you're chivalrous. Anything else?" Ashley blushed adorably, "Well, I wouldn't say I was chivalrous, I think dumbass fits me better and nope, that's me in a nutshell." Spencer giggled, pressing her body closer to Ashley, "Oh, so if I said I was cold, you wouldn't warm me up?" Ashley's eyebrows rose high enough to be covered by her fringe, "Uhm, of course I would but probably more as a self-gratification thing than a noble deed." Ashley's eyes roamed the area around them as she avoided looking at Spencer; she was more than amused when she realized that she had completely sobered up. Her eyes no longer took in images with blurred edges and Technicolor tones, in fact everything appeared normal, and although it was an inopportune time, she began to wonder why she had bothered to get so drunk when she had managed to procure such an amazing woman. _'I __**was**__ drunk-ish when Spencer spoke to me…maybe she wouldn't have stayed if I had been sober.'_

Spencer's head rubbed against Ashley's shoulder to catch her attention, Ashley turned her head casually to look at the blonde woman, "Uh huh?" she asked just as casually. "I'm cold," Spencer replied, smirking, "think you could warm me up?" and raising an eyebrow. Ashley's eyes bugged out as thousands of images raced their way to her head as she imagined all the different ways she could warm Spencer up. Spencer winked in a manner that suggested she knew exactly what was going through Ashley's brain, "Slow it down there, stud," she said softly, a kind smile accompanying words that she intuitively knew would assay Ashley's fears of, what appeared to be, rejection. Ashley's mouth twisted into a shy grin, not sure whether to be relieved or embarrassed. Spencer looked expectantly up at Ashley, who managed to fight the blush and then shake her head in despair at herself, "Sorry, I'm a real head-case. Uh, yeah cold, so uh how would you…" she trailed off as she realized her plan was not fool-proof. One, there was someone sitting where she wanted her back to be; and two, if said person was not sitting there, Ashley was wearing a skirt, a very short skirt that would make things even more uncomfortable for her already riled libido.

Spencer raised her head when she realized Ashley's movements had halted. The brunette was no longer looking at her but was biting her lip indecisively and glancing furtively at the dark-haired woman that was seated beside her. _'An ex?'_ was Spencer's first thought as she observed the seductive gleam in the eye of the unknown young woman, _'A jealous ex,'_ she concluded, '_shit'_. The apathy Spencer had experienced from Ashley suddenly made its appearance again as it fell over her whole body like a cloak shrouding the world from light. Ashley eyed the young woman beside her with mock interest; "Is there something I can do for you?" spoke the confident, raspy voice. The predator raised a dark eyebrow, "Most likely," not giving Ashley any leniency from the lecherous, green eyed stare she was being subjected to. "And that would be?" she asked, taking the bait; knowing from experience that people like this cherished the game. "A dance," she replied simply. Ashley smirked, _'Does she really think I'd go with her over Spencer? Look at her for crying out loud!'_ "Got a name?" she asked, her eyes staying on her suitor but her left hand snaking out to apply a reassuring squeeze to Spencer's leg; her attention was so focused on other things, she missed Spencer biting her lip in pleasure and the change in her eye color.

"Quinn" Quinn replied. Ashley nodded, her expression remaining veiled as she kept her emotions in check. Quinn seemed to expect Ashley to offer her name yet no forthcoming answer came. Her face flickered to the woman sitting beside the younger girl. She was beautiful in some ways, she reflected. _'If you're into __**that**__, I guess,'_ she thought cruelly, holding back the sneer that she felt like directing at Spencer. Ashley remained silent with her hand still on Spencer's thigh allowing Quinn to choose her move. Out of step with the rules, which Ashley decided to break, Ashley brought Quinn's attention back towards her as she gestured to Spencer, "This is Spencer." Spencer smiled, her teeth all but bared as the two women stared each other down. Ashley leaned back, aware of the silent competition but more interested in taking in all that was Spencer.

"Nice to meet you," Spencer lied, holding out her hand in a fake show of manners. Quinn stared at the proffered hand in disgust; "Likewise," she replied grasping Spencer's hand in a strong grip, attempting to inflict pain upon her rival. The expression on Spencer's face never changed as she exerted more pressure than her challenger could handle, neither recoiled but only Quinn's face held a smile contorted in pain. The pair released hands and Quinn, gingerly hiding her hand behind her back trying to ignore the relentless throbbing looked at Ashley, "About that dance?" Ashley looked at her with a raised eyebrow and replied, "What about it?" She fought the urge to laugh because it became clear to both of them that she had been gifted the upper hand. Quinn swore mentally, she had walked right into Ashley's trap and the slight upwards curl of Ashley's lips indicated she was well aware of this. She sighed, defeated, "Dance with me?" she asked pathetically, knowing she had been bested by one far more proficient at this game than her. _'Here's hoping,'_ she told herself. Ashley smiled serenely, acknowledging the final attempt with a regal head dip, "No, thank you. I'm flattered that you would ask, though."

Quinn stood up dejectedly and headed back to her friends who were all intrigued to find out why she was returning empty-handed. Green eyes reflected slight confusion, "That was the nicest rejection I've ever had," she mumbled still looking slightly dazed. Her friend patted her on the back sympathetically, "Dude, you shoulda known better. That chick hasn't taken her eyes of that blonde since they walked out here," a second chimed in, "And we're not sayin you're not hot, we're just sayin, dude, at least make it easy on yourself." Her eyes glanced back at the nameless teenager who was once again chatting to Spencer, all signs of her overpowering persona gone. And her friends were right, the girl's eyes were wholeheartedly attuned to Spencer, anyone would think that Spencer had cast a spell over her and that in the brunette's eyes there truly was no-one else around. Quinn shook herself from her stupor and smiled timidly, "Come on guys, no sense wasting the night," and she led her friends inside to get utterly wasted.

Ashley's hand had remained resting on Spencer's thigh throughout the entire encounter with Quinn and she was just pulling it away when she felt the gentle pressure of another, making it impossible for the movement to continue. She cast confused eyes at Spencer who just smiled shyly, her voice back to vulnerable tone, "I uhm, well, if you uh…wouldn't mind," her eyes darted nervously down at Ashley's covered hand, "I mean if you would that's uhm fine. Sorry, I uhm," she yanked her hand away from Ashley's. "Spencer," Ashley purred, "are you still cold?" Spencer couldn't resist the urge to smile, and she shook her head playfully, "Maybe?" she managed to mutter out in her mortification. "Why don't you let me warm you up," Ashley intoned softly, "come here."

Ashley pulled her legs up onto the bench and in a move that left no doubts as to what the black denim material covered; she patted the space between them. She watched Spencer's face for her reaction, "Don't look perv. I'm doing this outta the kindness of my heart." Spencer blushed because looking was something she had strongly considered doing. In an effort to preserve Ashley's little remaining modesty, she allowed her body to slip itself into the apex of Ashley's thighs. Thankfully the pair fit like two peas in a pod and Ashley easily encircled Spencer's waist with her hands and pulled her towards her chest. Spencer shivered with desire at the touch of Ashley's tongue to her neck and Ashley giggled into the delectable skin, "I guess I shouldn't do that, I'm trying to warm you up after all." Spencer's hands clasped Ashley's and began to play with the long tapered fingers. Ashley's teeth bit into Spencer's neck as she suckled teasingly on the bared, pale neck, "Like that?" she asked unnecessarily. Spencer's only reply was to groan and push herself closer to Ashley's body, as she attempted to ignore the kaleidoscope of feelings that were running rampage throughout her usually ordered mind.

Ashley planted a chaste kiss against Spencer's neck, "Wouldn't wanna give the people too much of a show," she mumbled against the reddened skin. Spencer sighed, torn between agreeing and telling them to go fuck themselves. Ashley appeared to perceive this and laughed, causing Spencer's body to vibrate to such an extent that even she couldn't help but laugh, "I'm trying really hard not to embarrass myself here, Spencer," Spencer's head twisted around and she looked at Ashley with surprise, "What?" Ashley asked and then blushed, thus followed the barely articulate speech, "I uhm, well I like you. I'm doing my best to ensure that you call that number…" big brown eyes blinked at blue shyly, "can't blame a girl for trying." Spencer rolled her eyes and Ashley slapped her arm playfully, "Don't make fun of me". Spencer smirked mischievously, "But it's so easy," she taunted. Ashley huffed with mock indignation, "Mean." She replied, pouting adorably and flicking Spencer's arm with her index finger. Spencer yelped, "Ow," she said as she rubbed her arm. "And you call me mean, how old are you, five?" Ashley grinned and cheekily replied, "And a half, thank you very much." The two continued to tease and laugh at each other completely unaware of their surroundings. Their bubble was only burst when Ashley's explanation as to why Spencer was a bitch was interrupted by two people approaching Spencer.

"Wow, Spence. Hot." The guy said as he looked Ashley over with frank appreciation, the woman appeared to hold back slightly as she appraised Ashley's eyes still focused on Spencer, "Hey Spence." Spencer looked up, sparkling blue eyes widening in recognition. "Hey guys," she said calmly, a light blush spreading from the base of her neck and upwards, highlighting her face. She fought the urge to hide her head in Ashley's body to save herself from the teasing that she was sure to endure come tomorrow. "Ashley, this is my brother Glen, and my best friend Carmen. Guys this is Ashley." Ashley raised her arm and shook Glen's hand with a friendly smile, "Nice to meet you," she said genuinely. Glen beamed at her, she was undeniably attractive and he couldn't help but stare at her. "Wow," he muttered, and then, catching the look on Spencer's face forced his eyes to meet Ashley's at a more appropriate level, "Same to you," he replied grinning wolfishly. Ashley smirked and Spencer blushed harder. Carmen kept quiet, preferring to observe Ashley's behavior around Spencer. Ashley's hand balanced mid air as she let Carmen assess her. It was the best friend 'test' and she knew that initial appearances could be the deciding factor as to whether she would have Carmen's support. Shrewd eyes scanned the casual yet indubitably protective embrace Ashley had contained Spencer within, the subtle shifting of tanned fingers brushing comfortingly against a covered stomach, soulful brown eyes that were obviously reluctant to tear themselves away from the blonde and lastly the patiently hovering hand waiting for the verdict.

Misty gray eyes connected with calm brown ones and both stared at each other. Spencer and Glen watched on in apparent bewilderment as the teenager and the young woman held each other's gaze unflinchingly, neither an eyelid nor a muscle twitched as the pair stared it out. And then, like a door being opened to the darkened bedroom, a crack appeared on Carmen's veneer and she held her hand out to meet Ashley's with a tiny smile, "Ashley, very pleased to meet you." Ashley inclined her head and replied with warm politeness, "A pleasure to meet you too." While a tentative treaty had been reached, it was obvious from Carmen's subtle look thrown at Ashley that she would be watched. Ashley smiled making it clear that the wordless warning had been understood.

Spencer was looking at Ashley with undisguised affection and Ashley, letting her hand and gaze fall from Carmen to Spencer, met the baby blues with the same affectionate look. "I guess you have to go now," she said, a sad smile infringing upon her features. Spencer met the looks of her friends and they moved over to sit on a nearby bench, giving the two women some space. "Yeah, I said we could hit Union on 48th," she appeared sad too and distractedly picked up Ashley's hand to play with as they spoke. "I'm sure Glen's had fun ogling the hot girls and Carmen's probably had her fill of cheap alcohol so…" apologetic blue met a sympathetic chestnut, "It's okay, Spencer. I had a really nice time with you tonight." She let her nose rub intimately against Spencer's, bringing their eyes and lips closer together, "I'd really like it if maybe we could," their lips met in a sweet kiss, "do this," the lips met again, less chaste as flames licked their way up Ashley's body causing her to inhale quickly and continue on rather breathlessly, "sometime again." She shook her head, when her words ran through her mind again, to clear it of the effects Spencer had on her, "I mean, again sometime," she finished blushing. Spencer smiled sweetly and pressed her lips to Ashley's, "I'd really like that too."

Ashley released Spencer and helped them both to sit up; Spencer averted her eyes as Ashley fixed her clothing, much to the enjoyment of their fellow club attendees, Glen in particular. Ashley crossed her legs again and turned to look at Spencer, "Well you have my number. Have a good night, Spencer." Spencer smiled when Ashley kissed her on the cheek, "Stay safe." The blonde took hold of Ashley's hand and clasped it tight, "I'll text you later, Ashley." Ashley tried to hide her worry behind a smirk but truthfully she was unable to quash the feeling that maybe Spencer's friends were her getaway plan. Spencer's heart beat slightly faster at the look Ashley gave her, trying to look brave but failing miserably. Their lips met once last time that night, and then in a flash Spencer seemed to be gone; all that signified her exit was flashing blonde hair whipping up in her motion.

Ashley sat back down on the previously vacated bench and contemplated the events of her night. Her cell beeped, breaking the silence of her mind and she picked it up as she checked the time. 1:20 am. "Time to make a move," she muttered to herself. Rising, on now perfectly steady legs, Ashley strolled inside to locate her disillusioned friend. "Aid?" she called, hoping he might hear her voice of the less punchy music. She spotted a dark head talking animatedly with Tristan. She greeted the boys with a tired smile and tapped Aiden on the shoulder. "What is it honey?" he asked looking up at his eyes, bright with mirth. "We gotta head, your mom's gonna be here in like," she checked her watch, "8 minutes, and you know what the line's like for coats and crap." He nodded sadly and turned to Tristan, "So uhm, you'll call me?" he asked hopefully. Ashley turned away to give them some privacy and heard extremely un-masculine giggles, _'Oh yeah, he's gonna call you alright,_' she smiled to herself. "Come on Aid," she asked after a few minutes had passed and he hadn't surfaced at her side, "We gotta roll." Aiden nodded and pecked Tristan on the lips, "See ya man." Tristan waved to Aiden, blowing him a kiss and saluting Ashley with a pleased smile.

"I guess you finally cracked him, huh?" Aiden giggled and blushed prettily, "You could say that, honey." Ashley smiled serenely, "I thought as much." Aiden gave Ashley a once over as they walked down the steps to the entrance, their coats in hand. "You meet anyone nice?" he asked. He had chosen that moment to look at her closely and almost fainted dramatically at the appearance of Ashley's blush. "Ash did you just…" he hesitated and then whispered conspiratorially, "blush?" his eyes widened at the thought. She tilted her head to look up at him and smirked knowingly, "What do you think?" He shook his head; maybe he'd had too much to drink.

"Didn't think so, man that was a scary thought," he held the door open for her as they strolled outside for his mom to pick them up, "Did you have a good night?" Ashley nodded, and Aiden turned away apparently satisfied by this answer. His mom's Porsche drove up and the pair slid in and closed the doors. "Hey Mrs. D," Ashley greeted Aiden's mom. Green eyes briefly met hers before sliding back to monitor the road, "Hey Ashley, good night?" "Yeah, pretty good. The music was just about listenable tonight." Aiden's mom laughed, Ashley constantly critiqued the music at Red but it didn't stop her from going back for more. Ashley allowed herself to soak up the comfort of the plush backseat as her eyes took to focusing on the nighttime surroundings beyond the window while Aiden chatted to his mom.

Ashley's phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down, half accepting that she'd received a text message. Her eyes took to staring out the window again, wishing she could be out on the beach with Spencer, strolling along the dry sand with the backdrop of ocean crashing tranquilly against the rocks as it rolled lazily up the shoreline to brush delicately against their feet. Twinkling stars would flash and wink at them, a light breeze easily advancing their slow pace; a moonlit dance, the world at their feet. She broke out of this reverie when she fully registered the fact that she had received a text. Trying, and failing, to exude a peaceful exterior she flipped open her cell and glanced at the screen. One message – unknown sender. Staring at the screen she remained still for a moment until she clicked the open button and her first text from Spencer revealed itself.


	2. Chapter 2a

**Hey guys, first off, I'd like to say that I was completely overwhelmed by the number of you that were interested in PBM. I was hoping for maybe one or two people expressing a vague interest but nothing more, so I'd like to thank all of you for even taking the time to read it. Secondly, I'm so so sorry I'm only updating now, I've been smashed with deadline after deadline and as much as I wanted to get back to this, I had so little time - I hate excuses, but I just hope you guys can understand. Finally, I'm not 100% happy with this, I decided to halve it because I'm heading to Spain in a couple days and I don't want to leave this hanging until I get back, all the same, I hope chapter 2 manages to not suck too badly, if it does, I totally welcome criticism :) _Anyways_, on with the show I guess..**

Chapter 2a: The Hills

Spencer yawned behind her hand. Her eyes rolled when she caught Glen's smirking expression as he pointed at a girl writing down her number. She smiled wider and mouthed the ever-winning phrase, 'Ashley's hotter.' He shrugged and replied, 'A girl's, a girl.' She turned away from Glen's exploits already bored with his less than lustre sex life. "So, what's with you and Ashley, anyways?" Carmen asked, beside her. Spencer blushed and replied as easily as she could manage, "Carm, we just met. What can I say?" "You like her," followed the blonde's words and it wasn't a question. "I barely know her." Spencer decided to take the safe route out and quickly excused herself to the bathroom, "Gimme a sec, Carm. I'll be right back." She watched Carmen shake her head as she walked away.

'_Well, __**that**__ was subtle Spence. Really, clap clap. Award winning performance.'_ She glanced at her cell phone, debating whether or not to text Ashley. "Get it together, Carlin. It's only been a half hour." She tapped her fingers nervously on the Formica top of the sink cover, her thoughts still on the stunningly beautiful brunette. She glanced at the screen of her cell again, "Fuck it," she muttered distractedly and, going with her newly-found courage, quickly tapped out a message. '_Hey. I had a lot of fun with you tonight; I know I sound eager but…think you could stand going out with me sometime? – Spence_'. She shook her head as an amused smile forced the corners of her lips upwards, "I'm being an idiot." She looked at her reflection in the mirror and her smile dropped, "Guess I won't be getting that reply," her thumb pressed sharply against the 'send' button and, tucking her cell in her pocket, she left the bathroom without looking back.

Carmen held out a soda to her as she approached their table. "Sent the text?" she asked, smiling knowingly. Spencer blushed and hid her face behind blonde bangs, sliding easily into the booth to sit beside her friend. "Yeah, how'd you know?" her eyes fixed on her drink, refusing to meet Carmen's questioning gaze. "You needed privacy; I assumed it was for Ashley. It couldn't be to call her, 'cause you don't like talking on the phone ergo..." she waved her hand as if to indicate the conclusion of her sentence. Spencer looked up, blue eyes roaming around the room as she realized there was no escaping this conversation. "Good guess, Carm." Carmen moved closer to Spencer, wrapping a slim arm around Spencer's shoulder.

"Spence, I know you. Too well, some might say." Sparkling blue eyes mingled with soulful gray one's, the owner of the round blue pools sighed resignedly, "I know. I just…" she nibbled on her lip thoughtfully, "I like her. Maybe too much for just having met her, but it's like I get this feeling that just," she shrugged her shoulders hopelessly when she couldn't find the word to explain her feelings. Carmen smiled lovingly at the confused expression her best friend was currently sporting, "Carina," Spencer smiled out of habit, "Uh huh?" She snuggled into the embrace as Carmen pulled her closer, "Are you going to see her again?" Carmen asked, backing out at the last minute from a line of questioning that was perhaps not for saying.

"I don't know - it's up to her. I asked but…" she trailed off, and then spoke softer, more to herself than to Carmen, "someone like her would never go for someone like me." A soft kiss was bestowed upon her head and the silence between them stretched on causing the blonde to believe that her words had indeed gone unheard. Carmen's soft thoughtful tone broke it, "Maybe Ashley could be the one to have you see what we all see." The silence fell again as the two young women looked out onto the dance floor and observed Glen make a spectacle of himself. _'I hope she does'_ came Carmen's almost unwilling thought, _'one day, querida, you will see what we see, and on that day, no woman will be safe_,' she smiled, amused by the thought and allowed her mind to drift to other places.

Spencer let herself be lulled into a reverie that involved Ashley cuddling her as they sat on a promenade bench watching the blood red sphere sink delicately and gracefully into the gaping, wide-mouthed ocean; she was just snuggling into Ashley's warmth, allowing her nostrils to absorb Ashley's musky fall scent when she quickly returned to reality at the vibration of her cell phone against her leg. "Ashley?" asked Carmen as she watched Spencer trying to calmly get to her phone without appearing too eager. "Mmhmm, maybe, might be someone else." Carmen's eyebrow rose at the fake show of nonchalance from her dearest friend, "Uh huh. We'll see." Spencer's mumbled reply was unintelligible to human ears as she pressed her index finger heavily against the icon that would allow her to read the '_One New Text Message – Ashley_'.

At the press of a button the screen disappeared and she greedily began to eat up the words. '_Hey back. Didn't think I'd hear from you, glad I did ;) Will I get to hold your hand? – Ash_' "How is it possible she can be just as adorable in a text as she is in person?" Spencer whispered to herself, "It was her," she replied, giving her belated reply to Carmen's question. "From the look on your face I'm guessing she said yes, right?" There was a beatific expression on Spencer's face as she smiled adoringly at her cell like it was the girl of her dreams, "Mmhmm, something like that," she replied absent-mindedly as she replied to the brunette's message, '_Couldn't lie to a beautiful girl, goes against my morals ;) If you say yes, I'll throw in a goodnight kiss too – Spence_' "There's just something about her, Carm; I'd like to at least give it a shot." The pair sat comfortably as the night wore on, Carmen's reply having been the last words spoken in what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, "If she keeps that smile on your face, I think you should allow her more than just a shot."

For Spencer the night seemed to dissolve into waiting for Ashley's next text and waiting for Glen to allow them to go. Fortunately, the former came first and she eagerly appraised the message. '_Sure_ yo_u've got the right girl, 'bout half your height, brown hair and eyes? Can't wait for that kiss, or your hand in mine. How's your night going? _'And before Spencer could even consider a reply, Glen approached. "Spence, you and Carm 'bout ready to head?" Carmen gave Spencer a wry smile and then nodded her head, "Yeah I'm done, man. Spence?" Spencer nodded her head in agreement and allowed herself to be led out to Carmen's jeep. With her face pressed towards the gentle breeze brushing her hair backwards, she contemplated the reply she had sent Ashley. '_Yup, sexy as hell and adorable to boot. Are you free Monday? If that's too soon or a bad time, would Friday be better? Heading home. How's your night?_'

Spencer stumbled through her front door, still clasping her cell phone protectively in her hand as she waited impatiently for Ashley's reply. To say she was surprised when her phone jumped into life ringing obnoxiously throughout the silence of her darkened, empty home was an understatement. She started dramatically before reaching for the offending object and quickly answering the call. "Hello?" she replied nervously, already feeling the sweat coating her palms as it always did when she picked up the phone. She sat down at the kitchen table, mechanically flicking the switch to bring light to the room and scrubbing her hands obsessively against her pants leg. "Hi." The sound of Ashley's voice brought her back down to earth and she chewed her lip shyly. "I wasn't expecting you to call," she whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" the voice on the other end of the line whispered back.

"Uhmm, I don't know. Sorry." Spencer stood up and moved to the fridge, opening it and grabbing a bottle of water."No need to apologize. I was just lying in bed, and figured that since you'd left the club and all…you might pick up." The reply while appearing nonchalant was laced with the slight hesitation Spencer had come to associate with Ashley, "You're in luck. Usually I _never_ answer the phone." Spencer absently played with the label of the bottle, "So uhm," she paused delicately, "was there anything in particular?" She shut her eyes, pulling her cell phone away from her face in the same movement, _'Stupid, Stupid'_ she mouthed. "Well," came the voice down the line faintly, "Yes?" Spencer quickly replied, grabbing eagerly onto the lifeline she'd been thrown. "I wanted to talk about Monday, or Friday or whatever, ya know?" There was a silence which was only punctuated by the slightly static sound of Ashley apparently drumming against something wooden. _Tat ta tat tat a ta tatatatatatata tat tat ta._ She had regular base beat going on, much to Spencer's amusement. "Drummer?" The incessant tapping stopped immediately to be replaced by the sounds of Ashley moving around – Spencer could practically hear her discomfort. "Uhm, sort of. Piano mainly."

"Hmm...", Spencer considered this while getting up to move to her room, absently grabbing the bottle of water and using its base to flick off the light, '_Musicians are sexy. Hold that. Ashley is sexy.'_ She grinned to herself, "So, anyway" Ashley began to speak again, "I know I already asked you out," Spencer smirked on the other end of the line and coughed nonchalantly; Ashley smiled and shook her head, "okay, okay, _you_ already asked me out, but I was uhm wondering if, well, ." Spencer smiled, amused, at not having understood a word that had just come down the line. She moved over to her bathroom and began removing her makeup, rolling her eyes at what she saw in the mirror, "Ashley, I'm not quite sure I got that last thing you said. Maybe you should try again," she heard the sound of someone huffing in annoyance down the phone. There was a small pause and then another sigh, "I wanted to know if you'd like to get some lunch with me tomorrow?" Spencer smiled widely, trying extremely hard not to squeal down the phone, it was hard, but she managed it. Just. "That sounds fun." Ashley smiled as well, doing a victory cheer, adding a fake audience's reaction. "Ashley? What's that sound?" Ashley blushed and chewed on her lip, immediately stopping mid cheer, her arms still raised in excitation, "Uhm...sorry, static."

"Oh ok," Spencer wandered into her room, casually getting dressed into her pajamas while chatting to Ashley about tomorrow, as she entered the bathroom she remembered something. "Oh, you'll have to pick me up at school", there was a small silence, "On a Sunday?" Spencer nodded automatically before she remembered that Ashley couldn't see her, "Uh huh. I have to do some marking, finish some displays. That kinda thing."

"So, you're a teacher?" Ashley considered this as she rose from her bed to turn out the light and close her door. "Yup." Spencer rested the phone between her shoulder and ear while she readied her toothbrush, "Ashley can you give me a sec? Just brushing my teeth."

"Sure thing." Ashley took Spencer's momentary absence to settle down on her bed, rolling around to get a comfortable position before finally settling down. "I'm back." Spencer's voice replied a few minutes later, Ashley heard the sound of a light being clicked off and a person padding into a room, bed clothes rustled and then went silent. "What do you teach?" Ashley asked, once the noises had stopped. "English – 7th and 10th grade at the moment." Spencer yawned, her jaw almost coming apart. "Sounding pretty tired there, Goldilocks." Spencer smiled cutely and tilted her head, "Is this really the time for nicknames, baby Bear?" Ashley giggled, amused, "I don't know, but if you eat my porridge your ass is mine!" Spencer rolled over, pulling the blankets with her, "It's not my fault your parents make crap porridge."

"You talkin' 'bout my Mama?"

"You know it, bitch."

"Oh hell no. You did _not_ just talk about my Mama!"

"I believe I did."

"You believe wrong, Rufus."

"Rufus?"

"Yeah, Rufus Wainwright."

"He sang Hallelujah, Smash Mouth sang I'm a Believer."

"Well, squeeze _me_ for confusing the two. They were both in Shrek, all right?"

"You're pathetic."

"I hate you."

"With a passion?"

"Always."

"Night, Rufus."

"Night, baby Bear."

Spencer smiled to herself as she disconnected the call staring at the display in clear thought before reluctantly putting it on her bedside table. She lay back on her pillows, looking up at the ceiling. A happy smile crossed her face as she slowly drifted into slumber. At around this time, Ashley was also falling asleep; she cuddled up to her pillow and imagined she could smell Spencer. Her eyes slipped closed and visions of holding Spencer at night came to her, and a slow smile appeared on her face. With a quick twist, the blankets tangled up in her legs and she was out like a light.

Spencer blinked owlishly as the light assaulted her eyes; she licked her dry lips stretching out her arm to blindly reach for her alarm; upon feeling the cold plastic beneath her palm she soundly slapped it, knowing full well it wouldn't resist the urge to blare obnoxious heavy metal music at her within the next few minutes. She felt a ridiculous sense of pride at yet again having beaten her evil foe, or clock radio, as it was sometimes also referred to as, in her morning ritual. It wasn't lost on her that winning meant waking up early, yet to her, this was not much of a trial as she had been born with the most bizarre desire to be up and moving in the mornings, unlike other members of her family who regarded it as one of the most heinous of chores. Tentatively opening her eyes, she glanced at the clock surprised to see a seven and two zeros glaring back at her, it was far earlier than she'd expected.

It wasn't until she was halfway towards the bathroom, towel in hand, that she realised today was Sunday, which meant that she'd be seeing Ashley – again. Although, in reality, it had only been a few hours since they'd last seen each other, it felt much longer and she was relishing the fact that today she'd be able to see the brunette outside the harshness of the neon lights. A huge part of her was beginning to grow a little nervous, anticipating that Ashley might call it off, as she faced her decision in the light of day, or that she might not be so enamoured with her now there was no alcohol to cloud her brain but she defiantly gave that part of herself the finger and decided that all there was to do was hope for the best.

She paused in the doorway having unwittingly caught sight of herself in the mirror. She ran a shaking down her face, her fingers resting gently on her lips as she considered the events of last night. Her lips still tingled at the memory of Ashley's lips pressed against her, a shiver rolled down her spine and she leant against the door frame for support. Spencer believed in love at first sight, she believed that everyone had _someone_ out there looking for them, she just couldn't believe that one kiss could affect her so magnificently that her body still quivered slightly at the memory. It was ludicrous! Her logical mind could simply not compute the information the rest of her body was feeding it. She was a grown woman for crying out loud, one who had responsibilities and duties of care for young people and here she was acting like a love struck teenager. She sobered at the thought, "Perhaps this was a bad idea," she muttered out loud to herself. She gave her reflection another glance, it appeared to challenge her. "She can't want me; we have absolutely nothing in common." She paused, "I hardly know her," and bit her lip, still contemplating her actions. A short silence followed, the birds happily chirping outside alerting the world to the start of a new day. "I could get to know her, I suppose." She half nodded, this made sense, and her brain could get on board with that.

Indecisiveness was not a trait Spencer liked about herself, and generally, it wasn't one anyone ever saw her enact yet in the privacy of her own home, alone, she was struck with a heavy blow of self-consciousness. What if Ashley really _didn't_ like her in the day light? "Screw it," she mumbled to herself as she finally entered the bathroom. She smiled at her reflection and, perhaps it was too early, but it seemed to smile back at her making it clear she had made the right decision. She ran a hand through her hair freeing it from a hair tie and allowing it to ripple around her shoulders. She wondered what Ashley had in store for her today; they hadn't exactly gone into definite details about what they would do. There was a promise of lunch but little else. She absently considered calling Carmen and asking her advice as she reached to switch the spray on and directed it away from hair. "That might be a bit much," she reasoned, after all it was only lunch. Everyone knew that lunch was the date you went on when you needed a getaway plan. It was a plan she'd employed countless times when women had approached her and she'd been unsure of their intentions. Lunch was always a sure fire way to weed out the duds and feelings were most definitely spared by a quick goodbye. Lunch created no expectations for further conversation, for further activity and especially not the dreaded _dinner._ Lunch was escapable, dinner was a potential mine field, and as a girl who enjoyed her food, she preferred not to endanger herself during a meal.

Her hand stilled halfway through spreading soap suds across her body, "Date?" she questioned aloud, was this really a date? Had they clarified that? She didn't think that they had. She had _assumed_ but, well, as she was always quick to point out to her class, everyone knew what happened when you assumed and the last person she wanted to make an ass out of herself in front of, was Ashley. "Maybe I should call her to clarify?" She spent several minutes contemplating this as she continued to lather her body and it was only when she allowed the warm water to run over her body that she conceded it was probably far too early to call. "Just because I'm an early bird doesn't mean the rest of the world is as well."

Several hours later, Ashley Davies greeted the morning with a loud groan once she accepted that her body was going into motion well before dusk. _On a Sunday_. And then it hit her. Sunday. Sunday was Spencer day. Spencer! Ashley's eyes flew open as she realised that she was meant to be taking Spencer out for lunch – today! She was unable to stop herself from leaping out of bed as she began tearing around her room looking for something to wear before she realised that perhaps, just perhaps, considering where she'd been last night, a shower was a better course of action. Slapping herself comically on the head, she wandered to her bathroom flicking on the light as she went. The bright lights overhead assaulted her tender eyes and she winced reflexively before reaching for the button that would start the water running.

She had just begun to shed her clothes when a knock came at her door. She glanced desperately at the shower with it's delightfully warm running water that would be sure to cradle her in a loving embrace, then at the door before quickly pulling up her boxers and padding over to open the door. Aiden's smiling face greeted her and he pulled her into a hug, his arms wrapping securely around her, "Hey, Ash." She managed to choke out a greeting once he had released her from his secure grip, looking at him oddly, "What are you doing here?" His expression morphed from one of welcome to that of surprise, "You asked me to come? Something about making food for you...? I still don't understand why you didn't just ask Marta for help." Ashley scratched her head trying to recall the invitation yet she was coming up a blank. "Did I? Oh, well, actually, I need some help making brownies. And you're the cake guy. So...help me out?" she wheedled, putting on her most pathetic expression. It was all for show, she knew he'd jump at the chance to bake, she could hardly drag him out of the kitchen most days, especially her kitchen. Christine liked to impress clients and had had it modeled on a show kitchen she'd seen on some show, it was all beyond Ashley. Cooking included microwaves, kettles and occasionally, on days when she felt extra adventurous and brave, a frying pan. Any other utensils beyond the standard knife, fork, spoon or chopstick implements made little or no sense to her and she didn't see any point in changing that.

Marta, the Davies' housekeeper had tried to teach her to cook. Aiden had tried to teach her to cook. He'd even equated it to music to put it on her level but it had the opposite affect with Aiden storming out when Ashley had filled all his pots to different water levels and proceeded to bang out Soulja Boy's latest hit. Ashley had wanted to film it for YouTube but apparently Aiden had seen it as her mocking him and had not appreciated it in the slightest. It was still a touchy subject with him but then Ashley had accepted that Aiden could be rather tempestuous over, what she regarded as, the stupidest things. In a sense, it was what made them so suitable for each other. He had major mood swings over minor issues, whilst she would fly into a rage at, well, everything. Music, on the other hand, music made sense. Music relaxed her in a way that nothing, and she meant _nothing_, had ever managed to succeed. Music had an answer for everything, an explanation for every mood and feeling that flowed through her body; an expression for each and every situation she had ever been in. She could connect with a suicidal artist in Australia, a twitchy junkie in England, a hyped up political activist in France without ever moving from the privacy of her room, all she needed was music to soothe her. Touching instruments, feeling their strings, their keys, their very essence flow underneath her fingers and straight into her veins, sent a rush of adrenaline that fueled her very being that made her heart race. When she felt at her most alone, music helped her remember that somebody, _some __where_ felt exactly the same way she did.

Aiden grinned ecstatically and rubbed his hands together gleefully, "Okay! I'll get on that and you," he indicated her rough state of attire with a dramatic wave of a hand and scrunched up his face, "you, get on..._that_." She stuck out her tongue at his back as he made his way to the stairs; he paused with his foot hovering over the top stair, "Ash?" She raised her eyebrows in the international sign for a silent question, "why am I making you brownies on a Sunday morning?" Ashley couldn't help it, she blushed. Her eyes rolled automatically at her body's defiant reaction. It was Aiden's turn to appear surprised, and then suddenly it clicked. "You met a girl!" He yelled accusingly, adding a pointed finger to further dramatise the situation. Ashley rolled her eyes again and nodded, cursing herself for being so obvious, he would never shut up now. Aiden lowered his hand and looked at his friend carefully. For a minute, he could have sworn he saw a hint of vulnerability flash across her face, but it was gone immediately and replaced by her token scowl. He studied her face and decided that, maybe just this _once_, he would allow Ashley her secret. He nodded as if to finalise his decision and smiled before turning to head downstairs, "Okay," he tossed over his shoulder.

Ashley watched after him stunned speechless at his minimal reaction. She shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "Well, that went well," she deadpanned. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned away from the door shifting it shut with her foot and disappearing into the bathroom.

The wonderful smells already beginning to waft from the kitchen were testament to Aiden's masterful skills in the kitchen. Ashley followed her nose and couldn't help but smile as she listened to Aiden attempt to belt out the hook from Kelly Clarkson's recent release. She wouldn't be surprised if she walked in on him performing the actions, and sure enough as she popped her head around the door way she saw him strike a muscle man pose. She shook her head, "too easy." She moved into the doorway and waved to him, "Hey Aid! Aid!" attempting to get his attention; he jumped at the sound of her voice and span around, whisk still held up to his mouth, he blushed prettily and batted his eyelashes, "It's a great song, yanno," she raised her eyebrows but refrained from commenting, instead choosing to hum along to the chorus – she had to acknowledge that it was catchy.

She checked her watch and started at the time, it was almost 12. She looked up and gestured towards the lit up door of the stove, "how are the brownies doing? Think they'll be ready to go soon?" Aiden eyed the clock speculatively and then glanced at the baking tray resting on the middle wire rack. "I'd wager another 10 or so minutes, is that okay? Remember that they have to rest for a good 15 minutes or so after that, though." She nodded, he'd drilled that little fact into her head countless times and she wasn't about to allow him to harp on at her _again_. "I know, I know." Ashley picked up her phone and rolled it over in her hands, wondering whether she should text Spencer yet. Chewing her lip, she reasoned that she probably should given that she had no earthly idea where Spencer worked, or even, more importantly, whether Spencer still wanted to meet up, a thought she wasn't willing to entertain just yet.

"You should text her, whoever she is. I'm assuming you haven't yet," Ashley looked up to meet Aiden's knowing eyes. "Is it safe to say it's not Paige?" Ashley rolled her eyes and nodded as a small smile formed as she thought of Spencer. Aiden's eyebrow rose in interest, he'd never seen that look on his friend's face before, '_Interesting_.' He did worry about Ashley, especially after the fall-out from the Paige fiasco but perhaps, he was worrying needlessly in this case. Maybe this one would be different. "I asked her to lunch," Ashley offered, uncharacteristically, and completely indirectly, asking for his advice. "Oh? And this lunch would be...?" he allowed his words to trail off hoping that Ashley would fill the silence. His eyes panned the kitchen pointedly, "I didn't see anything made, and if lunch consists of brownies, even if they are orgasmic brownies, I'm not sure how willing she would be to ask you to dinner." Ashley huffed exasperatedly, "I didn't say I'd _make_ lunch, I just asked her if she'd like to _get_ lunch, there's a difference, you know." Aiden turned away to hide his smile knowing that it wouldn't do him any good, "Okay, so where are you taking her?" Having successfully managed to rid his face of a smile, he turned round to face his friend again and was surprised to see her beaming. "That's a secret, buddy." She tapped her nose conspiratorially and tuned him out by focusing on her phone.

Aiden eyed Ashley once again, '_Very interesting,'_ he thought, '_very interesting, indeed.'_ He gave another small smile and bustled towards the stove to take a quick peek at the brownies.


	3. Chapter 2b

**Well..*crickets* Is there even anyone still left? I hate excuses, I really do, so naturally, I'm full of them. I've been going through a tough time recently, actually, I'm currently in the airport posting this before my flight departs. Family stuff, I'm afraid, folks. I'm terribly sorry I'm such an awful updater, I will really try harder but, well, focus has been a little lacking. So, if you're still with me, I'm still here. Sorry again. It's turned out better than I'd planned but...well, feel free to read for yourselves. And for those of you out there, thanks for the reviews and the reads. I'm truly thankful.**

Chapter 2b - The Hills

Ashley plopped herself onto one of the wooden breakfast bar stools in her kitchen and poked her phone despondently. She stared at it for a few minutes willing it to ring. She'd been practicing her Jedi mind tricks and she was almost positive that if she stared for just a second longer it would **–**_**brrr**_**-**. She watched, stunned, as her phone began to shake erratically back and forth, the metal clanging against the muted gray marbled counter as it seized back and forth in an effort to force her to answer it. Ashley reached out slowly, almost scared to answer after having _briefly_ convinced herself that she was responsible for its constant shaking. "Hello?" she said tentatively. She had been so concerned with her apparent development of meta-skills that she hadn't checked the caller display.

"Ashley?" Ashley couldn't help it, she melted. Spencer had a sexy ass phone voice. Cut that. Spencer had a sexy ass _anything_ voice. "It's Spencer."

There was a small noise which sounded distinctly like a slap to human skin, "Spencer? Are you okay?"

A small rumble of laughter tumbled down the line and Ashley's face morphed into an unbidden smile. "Oh yes, I'm fine," Spencer's voice replied, almost ruefully, "I just slapped myself in the face."

Ashley gave a small laugh, "Oh really? Accidentally, or, were you just brushing up on your self-flagellation?" Spencer's laugh joined hers which only led to the smile on Ashley's face to grow to inhuman proportions causing her to appear slightly unhinged and maniacal. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Spencer's teased softly before she let loose an amused snort of laughter, "actually, I was slapping myself for being so lame on the phone. Like, really, 'It's Spencer'? Loser."

"It's okay, I was being pretty lame myself before you called." Ashley winced; she hadn't intended to knock herself down before the first date. She smiled at the sound of Spencer's trickling laughter. "Oh, I highly doubt that. You're too cool to be lame."

"You must have met another Ashley Davies. I was convinced, albeit briefly, that I had willed you to call me. Lame, huh?"

"That's not lame, that's sweet. I'm glad you willed me to call. I wasn't sure if you were still up for lunch today." Spencer tried in vain to keep the disappointment out of her voice at the mere notion that she wouldn't be seeing the adorable young woman who had been invading her thoughts sporadically throughout the day. And, having tried numerous times to distract herself from staring at her phone, she had given in and decided to get the rejection over and done with. Fortunately, the conversation appeared to be more positive than she had predicted.

"Oh, yeah, I totally am. I should have called, really, because I actually have no idea where to pick you up. Or whether you'd still like me to pick you up. So an answer to either, or both, would be good," Ashley paused, hating that she was rambling but feeling unable to stop, "perhaps, the second one before the first. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, and I'm stopping. Now."

The airwaves went silent except for the sound of Spencer breathing as she struggled to contain her laughter. She coughed quickly to hide any laughter that might escape before replying to Ashley, "I'd love for you to pick me up," she husked, her coughing having accidentally grated against her vocal chords. Ashley inhaled sharply as she felt her entire body go into overdrive with the majority of the sensations being directed towards her lower anatomy. Spencer cleared her throat and, unaware of the effect she'd had, continued, "I teach at Fairview? It's not far from West Hollywood and just off Melrose. Have you heard of it?"

Ashley found herself nodding dumbly, her mind still replaying the low seductive tone of Spencer's previous words. She shook her head to clear it; "Yeah, I know a few people who..." she trailed off having realised that she had yet to discuss her age with Spencer.

There was a telling silence and Ashley chewed her lip nervously, almost positive Spencer had picked up her trail of thought. "Ashley?" Spencer's voice sounded concerned which caused Ashley to grow all the more anxious.

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to be rude but," Spencer paused delicately, "how old are you?"

Ashley sighed in frustration and stared at the ceiling before gathering herself and replying, "18," she hesitated, "I know I should have said something but I didn't quite know how to bring it up. Is it going to be a problem?"

Spencer gave a relieved sigh and let go of the breath she hadn't even been aware she'd been holding. "Oh thank God," she muttered, she spoke a little louder down the phone, "It's no problem, unless," she smirked, "well, how do you feel about older women?"

Ashley's mind flickered to an uncensored place where, she considered, she felt rather favorably about older women, "How much older we talkin' here, Mrs Robinson?" she quipped, feeling a rush of confidence in Spencer's willingness to continue their conversation. Spencer chuckled, "not _that_ much older. I'm 24. Is _that_ going to be a problem?" Ashley jumped off her perch by the breakfast counter and did an excited dance, her phone in one hand whilst her other hand fist pumped the air. She contemplated cabbage patching before realising that, despite there being no-one in the house, that was going _way_ too far. "Nope, I think I can handle that," she replied calmly, even though her heart felt like it _was_ time for cabbage patching and seemed to be taking it out on her ribcage.

"Did you just do some sort of victory dance?" Spencer teased.

Ashley blushed in spite of herself, "Maybe. But I have good reason."

One blonde eyebrow rose speculatively, "Oh really? And that would be?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. Spencer was clearly blind. Hot, but blind. _No matter, I can totally handle that_. "Spencer, not only are you incredibly gorgeous, and hilarious. And smart. But you're 6 years older than me," she said the last part slowly, allowing it to ruminate in Spencer's mind, "and I find that _ridiculously_ sexy," she purred, "and just so you know, I'm a cheerleader." She smirked when Spencer's only reply was a short pause and a whispered, "Oh, wow."

* * *

><p>Ashley's black bodied Dodge Viper crawled up the hill slowly, the wood chips crunching loudly under the tyres, dust flying up in miniature cyclones before settling only to be thrown into disarray again as the car traveled further and further up the hill. "Where are we going, exactly?" Spencer asked, her head turning comically left to right trying to spot a landmark which would help her establish where they currently were heading. "It's a surprise," Ashley replied smiling, and, turning to Spencer, she quirked an eyebrow, "Don't you like surprises?" Spencer stopped craning her neck and faced Ashley, giving her a brilliant smile, her eyes seemed to twinkle and for a second Ashley felt her chest completely empty of air, until she realized that, as the driver of the car, oxygen was pretty much a requirement. "Of course I do, silly," Spencer playfully poked Ashley on the arm, where she allowed her fingers to casually rest. Goosebumps rose up involuntarily under Ashley's skin, fair arm hair rising in situ and she blushed at her body's inability to be subtle about her feelings for the ridiculously attractive blonde seated at her side. "But as much as I like surprises, I like pushing my curiosity as far as it can go."<p>

"What? Explain that please." Spencer squeezed Ashley's arm, charmed once again by the younger woman currently driving her into the middle of nowhere.

"Well, what I mean is, I like," she paused, mulling over her words, "I love surprises, but I like asking questions, I guess. I like knowledge." She shrugged, as if she truly didn't understand her own reasoning. Ashley tilted her head, glancing at Spencer in the rear view mirror, "So, you like teasing yourself with little details of a surprise, but not necessarily hearing about the whole surprise itself?"

Spencer clapped her hands, "Yes! That's exactly what I mean." Her eyes met Ashley's and they shared a quiet moment as they took in each other's presence.

Ashley suddenly pulled the handbrake and her car slowed to an abrupt stop in a wooded area. "There you go," Ashley gestured to the sight in front of them. A stunned silence settled around them as Spencer found herself staring at a great hunk of foliage and green.

"Oh really? And here would be...where?" Ashley smirked and exited the car and walked around the car to open Spencer's door; instead of finally satisfying Spencer's curiosity, she grabbed the girl's hand and led her through to a path that had been obscured by the blonde's position in the car, a short walk later and Spencer found herself with a picturesque view of the Hollywood reservoir and the rest of Hollywood lay out beneath her. Ashley spread out her hands dramatically, "Here is..._here_." She turned to Spencer shyly and tried to gauge her reaction but her friend had yet to say anything. Several awkward moments passed and Ashley assumed she'd done something wrong, perhaps this hadn't been a good idea after all; maybe Spencer was a true LA beach girl and was completely opposed to nature.

"I'm so stupid," she muttered, kicking the ground forcefully. "I'm sorry, I should have asked before..." Spencer's lips pressed against hers suddenly, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around the blonde, just as she was beginning to settle into what was a lovely and tender kiss, Spencer pulled away, "It's amazing. I didn't even think green existed in LA, well, certainly not green like this." Spencer waved her arms around her, "Beautiful," and her eye caught Ashley's nervous ones, holding her gaze, "Beautiful," she repeated, with far more meaning than the first.

Below them stretched a view that was a tourist's dream. The hill rolled down into the valley, green grass and trees embracing muddy brown dirty roads and tree trunks, gradually rising up to meet the sky and the taller building of the industrious party city. Birds called out, rising and falling as the currents led them higher and higher into the sky towards the horizon appearing to disappear into the sky to places that humans could only imagine. Ashley fetched some things from her car and began setting out a blanket and the Chinese food she'd grabbed on her way to pick up Spencer. Not even the smell of the food could distract Spencer from the view and she gazed upon the little dots signifying people bustling around the city; she was stunned at the majestic, natural silence surrounding them – only to be broken by bird calls or the wind whistling through the trees. Scant rays of sun peeked through the trees, just missing their little patch to land on the land further down, gently warming the earth with a midday embrace.

Ashley, having finished laying out the spread to her satisfaction, slowly rose to her knees and admired the scene in front of her, Spencer against the skyline. "Have you finished staring at my ass?" Spencer laughed softly before turning her back on the view and smirking at Ashley, who, to her credit, was blushing and looking at the ground. "It's okay. I'm rather flattered, actually." She walked over to the still blushing young woman and sank to her knees, leaning forward once they hit the ground and reaching out with a hand to tilt Ashley's fallen chin upwards so that their eyes could meet, "It's not every day that an incredibly sexy woman is giving me the eye, yanno," she winked and stroked Ashley's face before rocking backwards and taking a seat on the blanket. "So," she drawled, "I was promised lunch. Pony up!" Ashley took that as her cue to begin open the various food containers she'd spread out over the blanket, allowing the smells to waft over them, and she was overjoyed to see that heat was still stemming from them.

"Well, I wasn't sure what you liked," she began, "I hope you like Chinese food?" She wasn't sure she knew anyone who didn't, so she had assumed it was a safe bet but then... She chewed the inside of her cheek anxiously until she felt Spencer's hand press over hers, "Everyone likes Chinese food!"

Their eyes met again and Ashley's face relaxed into a relieved expression, "Thank God for that," she mumbled.

Spencer made a move to survey the many food packages, "What do we have here?" She picked up some chopsticks and passed a pair to Ashley, as well as a couple of napkins, "There's rather a lot, but in summary... There's some spicy stuff, some mild stuff, some vegetarian stuff, some sweet stuff, dry stuff, chicken, beef, duck and I think I got some pork too." Ashley used a finger to indicate the corresponding containers, "And obviously there's some snack stuff like sesame toast and spring rolls. I'm pretty sure I got ribs as well. Any of that suit?"

Spencer's eyes glowed and she mocked wiping away drool, "I think we should just get married, like now. Food goddess." She made a show of pretending to bow which, incidentally, was no mean feat from her position.

Ashley smirked, "It's great to know you're so easy. All it takes is good food, huh?"

Spencer waved her finger in front of Ashley to indicate the negative, "No, no, no," she used the waving digit to illustrate her point, "_A lot_ of good food. Can't just be having _one_ plate General Tso's chicken!"

Ashley giggled, and reached for the individual white box which contained that particular delicacy and passed it to Spencer, "Have at it," she said, smiling as she pressed it into Spencer's greedily awaiting hands.

Silence descended on the pair as each dug heartily into different selections from Ashley's food spread, quiet chewing followed by soft groans, emanating from Spencer's side, periodically filled the silence but there was little talking, both their focuses were entirely taken up by eating, and of course, sneaking sly glances of the other when neither thought they would be caught by the other. Little smiles were interspersed between these glances and all in all, Ashley conceded, this date, as she liked to call it in her head, was going rather well. Mentally she patted herself on the back for a job well done. _It's not over yet_, her inner voice warned, causing her to panic slightly before she took a deep breath and turned to Spencer, intending to finally start up a conversation. _That a girl!_ Her inner voice cheered.

Before she opened her mouth to break the silence, Spencer's voice echoed around the area, "How'd you find this place, anyway?"

Ashley watched the blonde poke suspiciously at some chicken covered in, what she thought was, lemon sauce; she looked up, catching Ashley's eye, and raised an eyebrow in question. Ashley blushed, her eyes immediately falling shyly, "Uh, you know, just, uhmmm, looking?"

Spencer rolled her eyes and smirked at the cuteness of her lunch partner, "My, aren't we eloquent today," Spencer quipped, winking at Ashley to take any sting out of her comment. Much to her surprise, Ashley snorted and quipped right back, "My, aren't we educated," she paused for effect, "not."

Spencer couldn't help but grin, and poked Ashley childishly with a chopstick before embarking on a mission to find some beef chow fun, assuming it was even there; as she poked around some of the unopened containers she mumbled petulantly, "Nice comeback, smart ass."

Ashley smiled and patted Spencer on the arm as if in consolation, "Took you a while to come up with that, didn't it?"

Spencer poked her tongue out and pretended to inch away from Ashley, "I was focusing on the food. It's not my fault you order Chinese in bulk!"

"Oh sure, Spencer, blame it on the food. It can't fight back you know, that's like, child abuse or something."

Spencer, who had given up on looking for the beef chow fun, and was mid reach for some King prawns turned to face Ashley with a serious look on her face, "Are you calling me," her voice dropped to a whisper, and she looked around them comically, "a food abuser?" Nodding, Ashley leaned forward, "If you're not gonna call yourself on it, I will. Things have to change, Spencer, this just isn't right!"

Spencer pouted prettily, pushing her lower lip out and throwing in a slight wobble for dramatic effect said, "I went to a Food Abuser Group meeting once. I didn't think I fitted in," she swiped at an imaginary tear before turning innocent baby blues on the brunette beside her. Ashley eyes scanned Spencer's seriously before shaking her head in disappointment, "That's just _not_ good enough, Spencer! It's not even about you, it's about the _food_! Why won't you _please_ think of the food?!"

Unimpressed by Ashley's attempt at badgering her, Spencer threw up her hands dramatically, "Oh the humanity!" Ashley rolled her eyes at Spencer's dramatics and stuck her tongue out at the blonde. Spencer smirked as she eyed the girl beside her, watching with great amusement as Ashley attempted to use her chopsticks to reach for a spring roll whilst still maintaining her hold on her plate; a little impressed when Ashley was successful in her attempt, the first go, Spencer raised her eyebrows and indicated Ashley's clutch on the spring roll, "Pretty cool trick there, Ash." Ashley chose not to comment on the shortening of her name which had instantly caused a warm sensation to run rampant throughout her entire body straight to the tips of her toes. It surprised her. She had been called 'Ash' by the majority of her family and friends at one time or another (other nicknames hadn't been quite so pleasant) but she was fairly used to this one yet she had never felt such pleasure at hearing it coming from the lips of another. She was getting used to Spencer breaking her expectations but the feelings caused within her even by the mere presence of the woman sat beside her casually gnawing on a rib were not just new, but welcomed. She enjoyed these feelings, and was willing to do anything to have them continue. She gazed at Spencer, taking advantage of her unmasked interest in searching for something amongst the little white boxes to truly look at her lunch companion.

The sun had spread its arms even wider to greet the earth and its inhabitants, and Spencer's golden locks, seemed to merit a special greeting as the rays from above wove themselves in and out of her hair causing certain portions to glow more than others. She was, simply put, beautiful. And even the sun appeared to recognise this as it attempted to cast all it's shine upon her to showcase her effortless beauty. She could easily see Spencer in a Disney movie with all the little creatures running about doing her bidding, birds tying ribbons in her hair, squirrels leaping onto her shoulder to chatter to her just to receive a moment of her time, music regaling her wherever she went. Ashley shook her head. _This is ridiculous. She could be an axe murderer for all I know!_ She eyed the blonde again. _But what a way to go_. She was brought out of her head by the slight ding of Spencer's chopsticks landing on a pile of empty takeout containers. She watched her lay back patting her stomach in satisfaction, "That was quite easily the best lunch I've ever had."

Spencer smiled and patted the space on the blanket beside her, "Join me?" She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked at Ashley, "It's totally comfortable and I'm _so_ full," she groaned, "Why did you force me to eat all of that?"

Ashley's eyebrows rose, "Force? I couldn't stop you! You had this intense look in your eye once I handed over those chopsticks. I wasn't gonna get in the way of destiny."

Spencer smiled slyly at Ashley, "That wasn't because of the chopsticks," she allowed her eyes to travel up and down the supine form of Ashley's body making her implication clear to the brunette. Ashley, right on cue, blushed up a storm and made quick work of tidying up the empty cartons, gathering those that still contained food and placing them in a pile – a very small pile, thanks to Spencer. She felt a soft hand on her wrist, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She turned to face the owner of the arm who was looking contrite, "Well, I mean, I did, _obviously_, but if I offended you..." Spencer looked down as her words trailed off. Ashley couldn't help but tingle inside, "It's okay. You seem to have that effect on me – constantly. I mean it's understandable really." She took a deep breath to centre herself and smiled to show she wasn't upset, "You're beautiful, Spencer."

It was Spencer's turn to blush as she took in the softly spoken words, even though it was accompanied by a smile. "Thank you," she replied shyly. She raised her body slightly and pressed a gentle kiss against the brunette's soft lips before pulling away. Ashley's eyelids fluttered closed and continued to hide brown eyes for a few moments after Spencer's body had backed away. A small puff of air escaped her lips, and she opened her eyes unable to stop the smile teasing at the corners of her mouth. "Ready for dessert?" she said without thinking. Spencer winked at her and smirked, but as she opened her mouth to reply, Ashley beat her to it, "Not that kind, you pervert." Spencer's laugh ran rampant over the valley, echoing slightly down the lush hills surrounding them. "And how did you know what I was thinking?"

Ashley chuckled, "The wink was far from subtle."

Spencer pretended to look affronted, "I had something in my eye."

Ashley rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I'm sure you did, Spencer."

"I really did!"

"Mmhmm, sure." Spencer's false indignation spoke volumes and Ashley only smiled and picked up all their garbage, stowing it in the carrier bag she'd brought with her. Their exchange had also caused Spencer to smile, and she observed the young woman beside her meticulously pack away the Chinese food in silence. _She is stunning. Even picking up garbage_. "So," she drawled, "you mentioned dessert?" She flashed Ashley her most winning smile. "Let me guess," Ashley replied, turning to face her friend, "you're a dessert fan?" Spencer nodded her head eagerly and spreading her arms wide to indicate the magnitude, "Who isn't?"

"Models?" Spencer shook her head in disagreement as Ashley rifled through her bag for the brownies, "Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum _definitely_ get their dessert on. _Definitely_."

Ashley glanced back at the blonde, "personal friends of yours?"

Spencer huffed indignantly, "_No_. It's just so obvious; you can picture it, can't you?"

Ashley shrugged her shoulders and passed the Tupperware box to Spencer. "You're not allergic to chocolate, are you?" Spencer gave Ashley a disgusted look, "I'll take that as a no, then." She watched Spencer pry open the container and then blushed when Spencer moaned in a way that sent a warm feeling straight between her thighs and she licked her lips unconsciously when she felt her mouth dry up instantaneously. Spencer's shining eyes meeting hers only made her smile. "You made brownies?"

Ashley shook her head, taking one from the box and handing it to Spencer, "No, my friend made them. I can't cook to save my life," she admitted, slightly abashed.

Spencer paused, the brownie suspended in front of her mouth, "I'll cook for you."

Ashley gave her a sidelong look, "You can cook?" and at the nod, she chewed her lip shyly, "I've got a great kitchen you could cook in, if you wanted," when Spencer didn't reply, she rambled on, "Or not. I mean, you don't have to – it could be at your place. Or you could cook something and we could meet somewhere else." Ashley slapped her head mentally, _Shut up, shut up!_ She went silent, deathly afraid of what else she might say.

"I'd like that, either option. Really." She felt Spencer's hand on hers and her breathing evened out slightly.

There was a silence until Spencer let loose a guttural groan that would have caused even the most seasoned porn star to blush. "I guess you like the brownies, huh." Spencer's only reply was to fan herself as she continued to chew on the heavenly concoction in her mouth. Ashley watched the blonde slowly consume her brownie with undisguised lust. _It's like she's having sex with it._ It suddenly hit her that she was completely and utterly irrationally jealous of a brownie. She couldn't help but imagine Spencer's teeth on her body, her tongue running... She stopped mid thought as she felt that warm feeling descend on her again, this time causing her cheeks to warm harshly into another blush. Spencer's hand was still on hers and the desirable friction she was generating on the back of Ashley's hand wasn't helping her internal situation whatsoever. Once the groans quieted, their eyes met and Spencer smiled with great satisfaction. "That is the best brownie I have ever tasted."

Ashley nodded and spoke before she could help herself, "I noticed." Spencer blushed and shuffled slowly towards Ashley, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She glanced down and then, gathering her nerve met Ashley's eyes, "Just like I can't help myself around you."

"You just have to be yourself."

"But, I don't want to embarrass you, or make you feel uncomfortable."

Ashley couldn't help the blush as she remembered the feelings that were still invading her body, but spoke honestly, "you make me feel uncomfortable in the best kinda way." She realised how close Spencer was to her now and gulped loudly, the smell of the blonde completely taking over her mind and short circuiting it to the point where she could recognise only the baser sensations. "I really want to kiss you," Spencer said softly, smiling shyly. Ashley smiled back and even though she was still entranced by Spencer's close proximity she managed to reply, "Then kiss me." She had barely gotten out the words when soft lips silenced any other words she'd been about to speak. Her entire body sank into the contact and she resigned herself to being Spencer's, wholly and truly. It scared her, truly terrified her, to know that someone had a greater degree of control over her than she did herself and whilst Spencer terrified her to a point she'd never encountered before, she was intoxicated by the blonde. She craved the feeling of Spencer's body against hers, the way Spencer's lips guided her into total submission and the gentle pressure of her hands on her body. Her arms tingled in the wake of Spencer's fingertips dragging themselves down a pathway that was only known to her.

Spencer pressed herself closer to Ashley, forcing their bodies to naturally recline in sync against the blanket beneath them. Being atop Ashley was a position, Spencer decided, she'd happily stay in forever. She was soft in all the right places but clearly had muscle in several others. Even through Ashley's thin band tee she could detect the rigid outline that indicated her abdominal definition. A thought that made her body squirm in delight. Ashley's tongue slipped into her mouth and all of a sudden, Spencer Carlin knew she'd found heaven. It was unfathomable that all her life she'd been told about St Peter with his checklist at the pearly gates, the angels hovering ahead with glorious white wings fluttering and the choral music (always the choral music!) descending around all those gathered, enticing anyone into the gates of Heaven when all of that was _clearly_ complete and utter crap. Where she was, right now, with Ashley's tongue doing _that_ to hers, and Ashley's fingers casually playing with the hairs at the base of her neck, her breasts pillowing against hers, made her realise that Belinda Carlisle definitely knew what she was talking about. The sensations were completely indescribable. It occurred to her that she had completely misjudged Ashley's shyness. It wasn't from inexperience, Ashley's thigh had slipped between Spencer's legs and it was clear she knew what she was doing, and so Ashley became an even greater conundrum to the blonde._ A conundrum close to losing some items of clothing if she carries on like that_, Spencer told herself. She tried; she honestly tried her best to pull herself away from Ashley, but then the Ashley had repositioned her mouth at the piece of skin just below her ear and scraped her teeth gently against the flesh and her body had all but collapsed on the one below her. She decided that giving into Ashley's ministrations was a far better course of action.

Ashley could feel the warmth emanating from the apex of Spencer's thighs and felt her own body parts warm that bit more._ Who am I kidding? I'm on fire._ She couldn't get enough of the woman above her, each time her mouth came into contact with a patch of Spencer's skin she felt herself lose even more of her self control. She was dangerously close to throwing modesty out the proverbial window and making their first date a little more memorable than she had intended. Spencer was panting into her ear, her hot breath running over Ashley's skin causing it heat up and rise to attention, much like the rest of her body. Spencer moaned softly when Ashley's fingernails scratched just a little too much in just the _right_ way and Ashley realised she had to put a stop to this. _Respect for Spencer, respect for Spencer,_ she chanted in her head. She forced herself to tear her mouth away from Spencer's neck and slowed their kisses down from the frantic momentum they'd built up to until both of them were able to breathe against each other, their chests rising rapidly in succession.

Ashley hands couldn't resist circling Spencer's body, her fingers tracking the long expansion of muscle, taking routes of their own accord. Ashley sighed contentedly, finding it hard to imagine any other place she'd rather be. Opening her eyes, she found herself once again entranced by eyes that had darkened to a deep indigo, the usual flecks of darker shades appeared to have taken over Spencer's irises and captured the lighter, daintier cornflower blue much like Spencer had captured her. _Sexy_, Ashley thought to herself, _very sexy. _"Well," Spencer breathed, but it was clear she didn't know what else to say. Ashley smiled at the beautiful woman above her, "well, indeed." They gazed at each other with mutual affection until Ashley gently rolled Spencer's body to rest beside hers taking her hand in hers, "I didn't expect that _at all_."

Spencer smiled ruefully and scratched a delicate blonde eyebrow, "Sorry?" she offered, sounding about as apologetic as a child who was already chewing contentedly on her stolen candy. She glanced at the sky, marvelling at the grouping of clouds above them.

"I'm not," Ashley paused, gently stroking Spencer's warm palm, "sorry, I mean. Not at all." She hesitated for a few seconds and continued, almost as an afterthought, "I enjoyed it." She mentally rolled her eyes after she'd spoken, _I sound like I'm talking about a movie, not one of the most intense kisses of my life! _She internally slapped herself, _she probably thinks I'm a moron._ "I thought it was pretty incredible, actually." Both women smiled to themselves, reliving the moment that had just passed, their bodies still attempting to cool down.

"Spencer?" They were both gazing at the sky in comfortable silence, Ashley's hand still wrapped around Spencer's, her left hand twitching with the desire to also reunite with some body part of the blonde's and feel warm again. "Yes, Ashley?" Spencer, tired of the itching need she'd now developed to feel her body pressed against Ashley's and forced her free hand to cradle her head but couldn't help, paling in comparison to Ashley's nimble fingers stroking a pathway across her neck, _musician's fingers! _She told herself, she'd been right after all. The silence from her friend wasn't unusual, especially when Spencer gave her the go ahead to speak but she still turned to look at the woman beside her, smiling at the sight of the bashful expression on her face. She raised an eyebrow in question, keeping a smile on her face to make Ashley feel more at ease. _She is so adorable._ Ashley's shyness was such a contradiction of her character as, from what Spencer could tell it appeared to only come out when Ashley was around her and, more importantly, sober. She'd been fine around that girl who'd put the moves on her, and she'd been fairly confident with a few drinks in her, but now, when it was just them with no liquid courage, no dark lights to hide blushes and shy lip bites, Spencer couldn't help but think Ashley was far more beautiful than she'd first acknowledged. The blank vulnerability that sometimes flickered in her expression, or settled around the corners of her mouth and eyes was all the more endearing than anything she'd seen in _anyone_ before. She was on the fast track to feeling some deep feelings and, unlike in the past, she couldn't help but be drawn nearer and nearer to the younger woman who so clearly fascinated her.

Ashley's courage bolstered at the sight of Spencer's expression and she managed to force the words out, "Is this a date?" The hopeful expression on Ashley's face almost broke Spencer's heart and she restrained herself from grabbing Ashley into a full body hug, recognising that giving her space would probably be more appropriate – given what had happened the _last time_. She bit her lip playfully, "Do you want it to be?" Ashley grumbled good-naturedly, "You can't answer a question with a question!"

"Who says?"

"It's like...the law!"

"Oh yeah, of what land?"

"England!"

"Oh I'm sorry; I thought we were in America. My badness."

Ashley's eyes appeared to grow unnaturally large as she became even more affronted, "I can't believe that you just had the _gall_ to quote Hilary Swank – when she was playing an English teacher!"

Spencer smirked playfully and patted Ashley's hand condescendingly, "I'm _also_ an English teacher. How 'bout them apples?"

Ashley kicked her legs into the air, "you don't play fair, Spencer."

"You've been looking like that all day. I hardly think you can start with me about playing fair." Ashley blushed and dropped her eyes from Spencer, Spencer pulled her hand out of Ashley's and rose up on an elbow, "Hey?" she hesitated before gently grasping Ashley's chin and raising it up so their eyes could meet. "That was a compliment," she smiled. "I was just saying in my most roundabout way," she rolled her eyes at herself derisively, "that I think you look gorgeous." Her eyes dropped briefly and then rose again, "and you've looked nice all day. More than nice really," she winked conspiratorially at Ashley, "I should have told you earlier." She cupped Ashley's face in hers and used her thumb to lightly stroke the skin beneath it. Unable to resist the temptation, she pressed a light-hearted kiss on Ashley's lips. Feeling the butterflies starting to explode in the pit of her stomach, she pulled away quickly before she pushed her luck too far with her already hypersensitive body. Her lips still dangerously close to Ashley's, she whispered and allowed her words to run over the extremely inviting lips millimetres away from her own, "I wanted it to be a date. In my head, I told myself it was a date."

Still watching Ashley's lips, Spencer saw her expression expand quickly into a beaming smile and as she pulled away, her eyes expressing similar happiness, "Me too," the brunette replied. Ashley looked down at her hands distractedly, absently realising that she missed the feel of Spencer's palm pressing against hers. Spying the very hand, she encapsulated it within her own and immediately felt better, but she was so busy admiring the way their hands fit together that she missed the adoring expression on Spencer's face as she gazed at the distracted girl.

They spent a moment or two smiling at one another before Ashley realised the color of the sky was already beginning to start the transition from early afternoon to late. "I should probably get you back to your car, sorry for basically monopolizing all of your afternoon." She made to stand up and brushed the grass off her jeans before stretching out a hand to give Spencer some help getting up.

"Feel free to monopolize my afternoon, _any_ time."

They stood up and shyly eyed each other before Spencer reached for the blanket and rolled it up whilst Ashley gathered the remains of their lunch and repacked it all, placing the box of brownies on top. She smiled when she noticed Spencer's focused gaze on the brownies, "They're all yours," indicating the brownies with a nod of her head. Spencer's laughter was her only reply.

The drive back to Spencer's school had been relatively quiet, soft music played in the background and occasionally one of the occupants would say something, or point to something on the street but beyond that not much had been said. They both appeared caught up in their own thoughts and neither knew what to say, although they were both deriving comfort from the pressure of each other's hands entwined together just below the gear box. This lasted until Ashley's gear shifting became more sustained and Spencer moved her hand to rest on Ashley's leg; from time to time she stroked the material, imagining that she could feel Ashley's skin beneath her fingertips, a small smile lingering on her face at the mere thought. Ashley, on the other hand, was trying not to squirm under the delightful sensations Spencer was delivering to her thigh, it was only unfortunate that it made concentrating on driving a little difficult. She hoped that when she'd answered Spencer's last question that her voice hadn't sounded as strained as she'd imagined it had. At least she'd managed not to moan – _yet._

Once Ashley had navigated her way into the parking lot, she switched off the engine and silence descended upon the couple. Neither looked at each other because neither wanted to admit that Spencer had to go. Both had been eagerly looking forward to today but neither imagined it would have ended so well. Spencer's hand absently stroked Ashley's leg in contemplation, still completely unaware as to how she was making her companion react, "So," she said, attempting to prolong their day just that bit longer.

"So, indeed," Ashley replied, echoing their previous conversation, "do you want to do this again sometime?" Ashley cast a hopeful gaze and Spencer melted all over again.

"Hang out in your car outside my school?" She quipped, in an attempt to lower the tension, "Hell yeah! I can't think of anything more thrilling." Ashley stuck her tongue out at Spencer, grateful for the light-hearted answer. Spencer rolled her eyes playfully and nudged Ashley with her shoulder. "I, uh, meant that, maybe we could go out again, sometime, maybe?" Ashley bit her lip bashfully, internally shaking her head at herself. Spencer eyed Ashley in amusement, charmed yet again by how adorable she was. The silence dragged on as Ashley internally debated with herself why she had pushed Spencer into a proverbial corner, her fists balled up and shook with the effort it took her from slapping them down onto her thighs.

"Stupid, stupid, why would she even want to?" she muttered under her breath and, so caught up in self-remonstration, she missed Spencer's amused smile, "Because she thinks you're adorable." Ashley's eyebrows rose in surprise, her eyes flew with uncertainty to capture Spencer's, the beginnings of a tentative smile teasing at the corner of her lips which grew with every second that Spencer held her gaze, blonde hair dipping slightly over her face whilst her head tilted showing off an encouraging smile.

"Really? I mean...that's good." A light blush sprinkled over Ashley's cheeks and she winced at her desperation. She hesitated, "Are you busy Wednesday?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay," Ashley pulled her gaze from Spencer's and looked out the window; whilst she had accepted that chances were she was always going to look like a moron around Spencer, she hadn't expected such a clear confirmation. Spencer's smile only grew bigger. Running her fingers down Ashley's arm to grab her attention, she continued speaking as if Ashley hadn't spoken, "I have this date, you see, with this smokin' hot girl. She's about," she paused and caught Ashley's eye with a wink as she raised her hand to hover beside Ashley's head, "yay high, has these _incredibly_ gorgeous brown eyes, really cute and adorably shy. See," Spencer lowered her hand to pat Ashley's arm, "we had this date before, and I thought it went pretty well, and I'd really like another shot to get to know her better."

She tried in vain to stop it but her efforts were in vain as Ashley felt her cheeks warm with a light blush. She mustered up any remaining bravado and forged on as if nothing had happened, "Oh really? And where's she taking you?"

Spencer shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know yet. She hasn't told me but I'm really looking forward to it."

"How remiss of her. If I was gonna take you out, I'd make sure you knew what was going down."

Spencer smirked but decided to let the innuendo fly, she was enjoying their banter far too much to have it derailed by Ashley's cute blushing. "What makes you think you're any better at keeping a girl in the loop than she is?" Unexpected as it was, to both girls, Ashley's lips twisted into a sly smirk and her eyes flashed confidently. "Well," she stressed the word as she manoeuvred her lithe body over the gearbox, "if she was _any_ sort of woman," she stretched out a toned leg and nimbly managed, against her own expectations, to straddle Spencer's lap without poking her in the eye (or anywhere else for that matter), "she would have done this a _long_ time ago." Meeting Spencer's eyes, Ashley leaned in and pressed her body against Spencer's. When their lips met in a similar embrace, one hand migrated to cup Spencer's face, the palm warming itself against a soft cheek, a lone thumb stroking an untraceable path across any skin it found.

Ashley had kissed a lot of people, yes _people_; it wasn't until recently that she'd started getting picky about the sex of her kissing companions but nonetheless, she regarded herself as rather experienced. Until Spencer's lips met hers. Spencer made her feel like the time her Dad had decided, unceremoniously, that at the tender age of 5, Ashley needed to be practicing her "mad" driving skills. And so, with Ashley sat between his legs with her feet dangling at least two feet away from the pedals, he had placed her hands on the wheel ("We'll start with 7 and 5, honey, just 'til you get the hang of it,") and proceeded to accelerate. Things were going quite well until, it being just after 5, all the working stiffs hopped onto the motorway to put as much distance between them and their boring ass jobs. In no time at all, the car was veering off the road and heading for telephone pole. Luckily her father saw fit to end their lesson that minute and, jerking the wheel hard, they'd careened briefly before the car righted itself onto the road. She remembered her father's words clear as day "Now, honey, next time, you gotta keep an eye on the road, okay?"

Spencer made her feel like she was having her first kiss all over again, and like she had felt then, and in the car, she knew she was irrevocably out of her depth. But instead of thinking she was going to die, like she had with her father, Spencer made her feel as if she was someone, someone worth being. Sure, she felt warm and gooey, in more than the hyperbolic sense, but she felt something ultimately more powerful. Something _real_. Spencer might make her feel like an inexperienced idiot but equally she made Ashley feel human which was more than anyone else had managed. Ashley's thought stream came to an abrupt stop when Spencer playfully nipped at her lower lip and, taking advantage of the small gasp the brunette gave, Spencer slipped her tongue into Ashley's mouth. It was warm and seemed nowhere near as cavernous as the other mouths she'd encountered. Ashley's tongue and her tongue met in a playful battle, tapping each other back and forth, oblivious to any other movements occurring beyond them.

Spencer could feel a warm rush of _something_ that she'd rather not deal with and she knew that it was time to bring things to as graceful a stop as she was able. She slowed down the movements of her tongue, gently sucking on Ashley's as she pressed her hand against the one resting on her cheek. She entwined their fingers and pulled slightly away from Ashley to press a kiss against her palm. Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled at the childlike blinking of Ashley's eyes as if she was only registering her surroundings and fighting against reality. She gave Ashley's small nose a tap which caused it to wrinkle, which in turn sent the butterflies in Spencer's stomach flying into a frenzy, "You wanna know something?" Ashley's eyebrows rose comically and she shrugged, leaning back against the soft leather panelling. "Sure?" she smiled encouragingly at Spencer.

"I think you're _my_ kinda woman. I'm totally ditching that other broad," Spencer winked playfully and Ashley blushed. Spencer stroked a palm across the tiny patch of heat on Ashley's cheek, "I'd love to go on another date with you."


	4. Chapter 3

**Well, hello there all. It's been quite a while, hasn't it, folks? I'm not a fan of excuses, so I won't make any. I will apologise, however, for taking my sweet time with this update. Little parts of it have been bugging me off and on for a while and I still feel a little wiggy about certain parts but I don't think there's anything I can do to change them (barring a body switch but I haven't had any offers). For those of you still out there, I'm incredibly impressed and humbled by the follows, the comments etc. I never expect it so it's truly a marvel to me when you do. For those of you who have left, I hope you come back (not for my ego), more just so that you can read this comment and accept my apology. Feel free to leave after that. That being said, here it is. I'm so incredibly glad to get rid this SOB.**

**I do hope you like it. **

Chapter 3 – Pre-date preparation

There was a light breeze blowing sending several tendrils of Ashley's hair into a frenzy, each trying desperately to beat the other to the finish line, scraping and clawing against the sky with fingers outstretched before being thoroughly thwarted and dropped back home only to begin the mad dash all over again. Ashley twisted an iridescent curl between her fingers, blood red and dark mahogany melding into an entirely new color with every turn. Her focus was so intense and unwavering that her gaze appeared to be caught on something off in the distance; perhaps, the flock of pigeons circulating the football field pecking manically at remnants of donut holes, or, the lone runner doggedly making his way around the track having just completed his fifth punishment lap, sweat rolling down his chest in rivulets and his breath mingling with the cold air in a white mushroom cloud hovering above his head. Yet, in actuality, she was lost in her own thoughts of a certain older blonde girl, no, _woman_, who had taken over her every thought since they had met last week. Everything seemed to be moving at lightning speed and, despite Ashley's comfort with Spencer, she didn't like the ease at which she was fitting into a lesbian stereotype. Perhaps, just perhaps, they were moving _too_ fast. _Oh get over yourself. It's only a second date_, she nodded her head. It wasn't like she'd even seen Spencer's place! _Yet_, her inner voice chimed in again. Ashley smirked unconsciously. She wasn't worried about _that _aspect of their relationship.

Spencer surprised her, in every way it seemed. She chewed her lip thoughtfully as she considered the blonde. She wasn't used to being so out of control. Ashley knew what people thought about her; she knew that people thought she was easy – in particular that she'd go both ways; and that she did drugs, which was old news, really. That was the problem with having a past, she conceded, you could never get away from it, no matter how far into the future you moved. There was no point in being adamant that yes, she had done drugs, but she didn't anymore. Unlike in most circumstances where people paid attention to everything succeeding the word 'but', it seemed, in her case, that all anyone heard was what preceded it. At times, it had been a struggle, but she wasn't one to back down from a fight and she had decided to rise above it. She shouldered all the stigmas and harsh words and carried on regardless. Her reputation no longer influenced her decisions – at least, not her reputation at school. She worried, constantly, that she would never more than the labels; that, despite all her attempts to be the bigger person, she would become who everyone thought she was. A failure. A screw-up. She scratched self-consciously at her arm in an attempt to distract her mind from her decidedly self deprecating thoughts. She hadn't meant to dwell so much on the past but at her lowest moments it seemed as if it was only yesterday that Aiden had found her in her room shaking, delusional and incoherent as she attempted to go cold turkey. It had hit her harder than she had imagined and despite the considerable effort she put in, by the second time she felt the cockroaches attempting to burst through the pores in her skin to continue their trek along her body topside, she had to admit that she was grossly out of her depth. She would never tell him, even though she was fairly sure he knew, but Aiden had probably saved her life – more than once, and for that, she was indebted to him for life. She chuckled darkly at her melodrama.

These moments she took to sit and ponder the current state of her affairs, and those that had come before, gave her back some much needed control. During her 'coke phase' as she often phrased it, the noise in her head would only shut up when she was high. Even then, for all she knew, they might have still been ringing in her head but she was so out of it, she could never remember. Whole spaces of time, sections of days and periods of weeks were struck from her mind as if someone had painstakingly picked through her memories at random and extracted them one by one, plucking them with a fine pair of tweezers and flinging the brain matter to the floor with no care as to how Ashley would deal with the consequences. Huge blank spaces in which epiphanies, disasters, loves, losses, things that mattered, and things that didn't, could have occurred, but to her they would remain uncharted forevermore.

Paige had re-awakened a lot of Ashley's insecurities. It brought her less than stellar record to the forefront of her mind more oft than not and she often felt as if she was sinking in her sea of mistakes; bad choices grasping at her ankles, gripping them stiffly like swamp mud clinging triumphantly to the shoe of anyone stupid enough to trek through it and refusing to let go despite furious shaking; the weight of her past felt like cement blocks wrapping around her body, weighing her down and forcing her underwater, ignoring any attempts made by her to resurface, her arms pinned at her sides and frantic bubbles of wasted air floating above her like speech bubbles from classic comic books, the bold exclamation point expressing every emotion she could ever need. She shook her head emphatically trying to rid herself of her memories.

Her mind strolled casually back to Spencer as if they'd never been parted. Spencer was the light given off by a lone comet in the sky, bright and purposefully streaking across the sky capturing everyone's gaze for as long as it was able; once a blue moon it happened and even without its infrequence the sight was so magnanimous that you couldn't but be awestruck by a true miracle of nature. It lent the mind to consider the plight of humans in such a big and misunderstood state of being with nature on the peripheral doing its own thing, and very well at that. She gnawed at her lip thoughtfully, her gaze refocusing on the runner whose pace seemed to be slowing, evidently having set his sights on the finish line. Maybe it was time to give her heart a break. She winced both inwardly and outwardly. "Did I just quote Demi Lovato?"

There wasn't a slap that could have hit her hard enough to mirror the derision she felt. Ashley reached between her feet and picked up her messenger bag, looping it around her body as she stood. She had been out here far too long.

* * *

><p>"She's in high school?!"<p>

Spencer pulled the phone away from her ear. She thought people only did that in movies; that the voice on the other end of the phone was so loud they had to physically put distance between themselves and the receiver but it was really happening to her. She didn't know Carmen was capable of screeching. In any other circumstance she would have stopped to truly contemplate the marvelous feat her friend was currently performing. The silence on the other end indicated that she was clear to return the phone to her ear without potentially contracting tinnitus. '_I think that's what it's called. Or maybe they should just change it to 'your best friend going bat shit crazy on the phone' disorder.' _She paused, '_maybe not. That would be one hell of an abbreviation_.' Getting back to the matter in hand, Spencer chewed her lip, "yes, she is. What of it?"

She rolled her eyes. '_Bad call. Shouldn't have been so defensive.'_

"Uhmm, lemme see. You're a teacher, she's a student – starting to get a clue yet?"

"A student of another school?" Spencer replied meekly, knowing she really didn't have much of an ethical leg to stand on.

"Spence, what would you think if you were a parent of a kid at your school?"

Spencer chewed her lip harder, completely unconcerned with whether or not she'd draw blood and more focused on Carmen's words. "Well, I might, _possibly_, wonder if the lady teaching my kids was going to put the moves on one of her own students."

There was a silence and Spencer rushed to fill it, "which I wouldn't!"

She heard Carmen sigh on the other end of the phone. "Spence, be serious."

Spencer stomped her foot childishly which didn't help her cause at all. "Urgh!"

She groaned in frustration. "We're not even dating! All we've done is kiss and act stupid around each other." An unbidden smile appeared on Spencer's face as she remembered the very gentle way Ashley had taken her hand and guided her towards the path where they had lain eating lunch. "Carm, she's sweet. _Really_ sweet." Carmen winced at the emphasis but forced herself to pay attention. "It might not go anywhere so I'm not going to freak out. Besides, she's 18. She can do whatever she wants." Her eyes rolled back slightly as she pictured Ashley doing whatever she wanted to her body but forced herself to remain in reality. For her own sake. "Neither of us have any contact. At all. Well, school-wise, I mean. We might as well be in different worlds."

"But Spence, you're not. What happens if it gets out?"

"If what gets out? We're not doing anything!"

"Yet..." Carmen softly reminded her. She could feel herself tensing up at the thought. She tried not to think about Spencer and Ashley being...intimate but given the current topic of their conversation, it wasn't easy. Usually, these types of conversations with Spencer were short, sweet and the emotional cuts were very shallow. Spencer didn't tend to have serious romantic relationships; she very, _very_ rarely connected with anyone beyond mundane things like television preferences and favorite foods so she hadn't had to tread these waters in quite this way. She could sense there was something different about Ashley. Something that Spencer appeared to have noticed herself if the way she reacted whenever Ashley was mentioned was anything to go on.

Carmen and Spencer had been friends since college where they'd been paired up by the residential administration. The first year of rooming together had been a random match but the corresponding years where they'd stayed on campus, and then transitioned to a flat off campus, had been a mutual choice the pair had made during their final semester of freshman year. Spencer had looked at Carmen over her cup of tea at the campus cafe, steam rising up and depositing a slight sheen of perspiration across her forehead that had Carmen squirming in her seat willing herself not to reach over and wipe it off, and asked her point blank if she'd like to move in with her. Carmen's initial reaction had been her heart exploding, beating furiously beneath her t-shirt until she took in Spencer's meaning as opposed to the one she had appropriated, and allowed a tamer smile to grace her features, tamping down the face-splitting toothy beam she felt itching to stretch her facial muscles. She'd nodded her head in acquiescence, not trusting the words that were likely to flow out of her mouth, unbidden. Spencer had given a happy wiggle in her seat and they'd settled back into their conversation as if a life-changing moment had not happened.

Carmen couldn't quite distinguish what had made her fall in love with Spencer, or even when it had occurred because, as cheesy as it was, she couldn't remember a time when she wasn't completely enthralled by her best friend. There was the time Spencer's dog in Ohio had died and Carmen had walked in to find her roommate curled up on her bed sobbing her heart out, her body wracked with convulsions and hiccups in an attempt to force the air into her lungs. Carmen had quickly crossed the room and gathered Spencer in her arms as they lay on her bed, whispering soft words of encouragement into her ear. Or when the kid that Spencer tutored got into Harvard on scholarship after spending a year with Spencer tutoring him in English and assisting him with his dyslexia; Spencer's face had been a beam of sunshine, her eyes glowing with pride as she nodded enthusiastically on the phone, her student recounting every second of his visit to the Ivy League school. Carmen had felt her heart swell with her own kind of pride at Spencer's immense accomplishment and had barely contained the desire to plant kisses over Spencer's neck, bared as usual with Spencer's classic head tilt. There were thousands of occasions that could have been the reason for Carmen's infatuation, millions of glimpses of Spencer that made her heart ache. All she knew was that each moment's feelings were indistinguishable from the next because they all led to a giant flashing neon pink heart with an arrow piercing the body, Spencer's face comprising the arrowhead.

It wasn't a new feeling, her feeling jealous of someone new in Spencer's life. No, she was used to that. Spencer's beauty and personality, amongst a few choice characteristics, made it a given that some girl was likely to latch onto her. What was different was Spencer's reaction. Spencer was typically quite dismissive about her conquests, not cruelly and not unkindly, more disinterested than anything else and it was her complete and total active interest in Ashley that made Carmen sit a little straighter and listen a little harder. Spencer could barely keep the bashful tone out of her voice and the happy little sighs that littered their conversation filled Carmen's stomach with unease. She wasn't unhappy for Spencer, she never could be; she was just disheartened because she knew, without a doubt, that she would never be the cause of those emotions. There had been moments, brief pauses in their years of friendship where Carmen had considered she may have had a chance but the worry in losing her best friend, and the thought that she would be quickly added to the list of dismissed, ate away at any courage she felt and helped her keep silent. She didn't regret her choice because she knew Spencer well enough to know they'd never have lasted but it wasn't an easy pill to swallow, especially the way Spencer's voice sounded so wistful, as if she hadn't even considered Carmen a choice, as if Ashley was all she knew.

"Should I stop seeing her? Try and forget about her?"

Carmen felt her heart strain against its cage. Spencer was giving her the perfect opportunity to legitimately end this thing between her and Ashley without appearing as if it was because she was jealous. She found herself staring at the crossroads of best friend and unrequited love, and as easy as she thought it would be to head down one path, she found herself twisting her head and inspecting the other. She thought of a poem that Spencer had once spent an entire semester in college reciting because she was so taken by the ending. Carmen had often considered what she'd do if she found herself in this situation, and so, it was to her surprise that she opened her mouth and spoke as honestly as she could without crossing a line, "I think you should give her a chance. Like you said, she's 18, so she'll be out of high school soon."

Loving Spencer was something she'd always do, and any path that allowed her to maintain Spencer's happiness would always be taken because that happiness would _always_ counteract her sadness, and that made all the difference.

Spencer drew a breath in and exhaled slowly, "really?"

It felt like her heart was beating irrationally fast as she waited the few seconds that seemed to stretch on for hours which Carmen took to give her reply. She barely believed it when her friend replied with an affirmative, "yes," as if she hadn't just been arguing resolutely against keeping Ashley in her life. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Spencer held back on questioning the decision.

"Okay," she replied.

"Okay," Carmen echoed back at her.

And, for the moment, that was enough.

* * *

><p>Students milled around her, catching her body in a vacuum and propelling her into the building. Ashley loved this part of the day. There were so many students; they were so intent on their destination, willingly or unwillingly, and often deprived of breakfast, sleep or caffeine that they took no notice of the person standing beside them. She finally became an unknown, in a place filled with people that sought to know everything about her. Like anyone, Ashley liked to be noticed, but only when it was on her own terms. Her off the wall extra-curricular activities had led to her life being viewed under a microscope, her every action analysed like some lab rat in a biology experiment except she didn't get anything out of it. To have these moments when not one eye was on her, no voices whispered her name and no-one was targeting her with dirty looks, was like reaching that point of serenity where the world ceases to exist, the silence takes over and all that surrounds you is colors, blurry colors in motion.<p>

A tap to the shoulder pulled her from her reflections and she turned her head with a scowl that quickly transformed into a small smile when she saw the person, "Hey Ash," Aiden slung his beefy arm around the brunette companionably, casually lending her his strength.

"Aid," she nodded shortly, trying her best not to snuggle into his armpit. The thought made her recoil slightly, _Ew. Man sweat. Man hair!_ She rolled her eyes at her childish thoughts.

"How you doin', buddy?" Ashley snorted and poked him in the side as they separated to walk into homeroom together, "I'm doing just great,_ buddy_. How 'bout you?"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aiden smile gleefully, and the way his body was vibrating, she just knew he was holding in a squeal. Camp as he was, even he had his limits and this was not the place for his flamboyancy. Plus, she was fairly certain Aiden could sense squealing this early in the morning around her would earn him some kind of physical pain, and bruises. Long-lasting bruises. Her guess proved correct when he gave her a jaunty, two-handed thumbs up, jiggling his thumbs in some form of victory dance. _I wonder if he ever does this in the mirror_, she thought absently, waiting for him to fill her in. She knew he would. She could see that he was practically fit to burst in his excitement, one eye-roll later and Aiden seemed to think she was in the right mood to take his news.

"Tristan asked me out!" His thumb movement took over his entire body and he jiggled in his seat, prompting her to slide slightly away from him. She hoped that if she met anyone's eyes that they would rescue her, or at least know he wasn't with her. She scanned the room looking for a friendly face but was unsuccessful. Sighing, she turned back to Aiden whose enthusiasm hadn't dimmed in the slightest, despite her lack of support.

"That's great, Aid. I figured it was a foregone conclusion after the way he was looking at you."

Aiden's body was still vibrating and even though he wasn't, she could practically hear the excited squealing erupting inside his body, like some demented piglet spying mud for the first time.

"Really?!"

Ashley nodded silently and patted his hand, in a rare show of companionship. "Yes, really."

A comfortable silence embraced the two friends, a stark contrast to the raucous cacophony breaking out around them in the small classroom. Despite the early hour, teenagers were teenagers and a free moment in the oppressive environment created in high school made any moment free of teachers feel like liberated bliss, muscles felt light, voices erupted from the chest where they had been constrained and there was a strange camaraderie amongst the individuals seated close to each other. Teaching wasn't meant to be easy and these fifteen odd other strangers were the only things standing between students completely losing their sense of self.

"Where's he taking you?"

Ashley surprised herself by asking that question, it seemed to come as a shock to Aiden as well, who gave a dramatic double-take before excitedly recounting the entire conversation word for word. It occurred to Ashley that she was more interested than she had first thought; with a quick pause and a stock take of her emotions, she dismissed that thought quickly. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully, her thoughts drifting towards a certain blonde and suddenly her interest became clear. Aiden was so preoccupied with warbling on about Tristan that she was free to focus her thoughts on Spencer, the occasional grunt, or non-committal "Uh huh," seemed enough for him as he continued his spiel without appearing to notice that she hadn't heard a word he had said.

She rested her chin on her hand and made as if to be focusing on Aiden's words but instead she found her gaze captured by the scene through the window. The courtyard had emptied as quickly as it had filled and all that remained were a few stragglers and stoners, dashing and dragging their feet to class respectively. A flash of blonde hair fluttered in and out of her line of sight and her mind immediately focused on Spencer.

She drifted off as she imagined that they were in her room, more importantly, on her bed. Spencer lounged behind her; Ashley's back resting against Spencer's chest. Spencer's hands had deftly removed her shirt and bra before teasingly slowing their pace to gently stroking a path across her stomach. Ashley felt her back arch into the blonde woman's body as she attempted to give those sly, slim fingers more surface area of tantalizingly sensitive skin. "Please," she murmured, her lips barely moving to allow the air to pass through them. She was so focused on all the sensations that Spencer was making her body surrender that she felt like basic functions she had mastered almost two decades ago required more energy than she could muster. Every sense felt like it was on fire, hypersensitive so that even a whisper of a touch from the blonde, sent electric passion coursing through the pads of Spencer's fingertips and electrocuting her body with nary a touch. She felt Spencer lean into her, her breath passing within micrometers of her ear, every hair on her body automatically rose to attention, like stiff sentries on a mission to guard her every sensation. "What do you want, baby?"

Ashley's body shivered instinctively and she groaned unintentionally. It was all out of her control now; she was truly at Spencer's mercy. Her body had given up the fight and she felt like all she could do was wait and endure whatever torturous move Spencer planned to execute next. Enjoyable, exciting, unparalleled – but torturous. Spencer bit sharply against Ashley's pulse point, holding the ridiculously sensitive piece of skin between her teeth, Ashley's life force thundering in her mouth, teetering on the edge of explosion and collapse. Ashley felt her body rumble, really vibrate with tension, but it rippled through her with such force that it became far more determined than a mere shiver or shake, it was an all out erratic percussion beat rolling underneath her skin, ripping through her autonomic nervous system with such power that she felt like she was setting records on the Richter scale.

"Unh," was the only reply she was capable of making. It wasn't even a word, a jumbled trio of letters that made no sense but it seemed to be the most accurate method of describing how she felt. Spencer's fingers traced the underside of Ashley's breast, drawing firm lines into her skin with the lightest of touches. Spencer unclenched her teeth and released Ashley's pulse point, quickly putting her mouth to work by placing gentle kisses against Ashley's neck. Ashley could only moan in appreciation.

Spencer shuffled her body closer and shifted her hands higher on Ashley's body. She alternated her ministrations against Ashley's neck between kisses and light licks, sliding her fingers across the planes of Ashley's soft skin to press firmly against two pert nipples. Ashley inhaled sharply, and bit her lip, trying in vain to hold in another moan, to keep the air that threatened to explode from her lungs inside. It worked, for a few seconds but then Spencer, that sneaky, but oh so sexy, temptress, scratched the tips of her nipples simultaneously. They were already engorged, straining against the oppressive hold her skin had on them, urging her body to arch even further against Spencer's embrace. Air rushed out of Ashley's lungs in the form of a deep, tortured groan and she truly felt like she was about to cry. She'd never felt so frustrated, so utterly and undeniably turned on that it felt like her body was against her. "Please," she gasped, pressing herself closer to Spencer's hands, "please, just...just," she gulped in an attempt to wet her lips, to provide some much needed moisture for her suddenly dry throat.

Spencer cupped Ashley's breasts possessively and leaned ever closer to her ear, "please, what, baby?" she whispered, nipping affectionately at Ashley's earlobe causing her to shudder again.

"Please what, Ash?"

Ashley froze, and then felt herself sinking into her seat hoping the world would swallow her up. She felt a high blush break out over her entire body which was already throbbing from her lewd thoughts. _Realistically lewd thoughts_, her inner self mumbled. Ashley rested her head in her hands and decided that it would be better to just curl up and die on the spot. She and Spencer would just have to have paranormal sex. Like in Hex. She could hear the glee in Madison's voice, it was so palpable it was practically soaking the air. '_Kinda like my underwear_,' she thought snidely. She shifted in her seat and warily raised her head, her chin settling on her forearms. She opened one eye and shot Madison a fierce glare. It had no effect; Madison merely smirked back at her, a giant shit-eating grin corrupting her face. Alarmingly so, Aiden was still chattering away. '_Jock stereotype, ahoy_,' she remarked to herself. She patted him on the arm, and then turned to face her other best friend who'd taken her seat beside Ashley and seemed to be settling into hearing every juicy detail, worming her body into the seat with a wriggle that looked entirely too satisfied, '_and all with that fucking smug smirk'_. Ashley ignored the brief image of her punching Madison in the face.

They'd been through that phase and despite both walking away with black eyes and various scratches, it seemed to have resolved their dysfunctional issues. She knew that in reality, she really was looking forward to telling Madison everything; she trusted her insight a lot more than she allowed her friend to believe - Ashley merely wished Madison would stop being so goddamned all-knowing about it. _Like you wouldn't be the same if the tables were turned_. Ashley rolled her eyes inward. That _totally_ wasn't the point. She met Madison's gaze square-on and was relieved to see that her expression had morphed into something that was infinitely more compassionate and caring, a gentle smile had replaced the smirk and when Madison reached out her hand, Ashley allowed her friend to let it rest on her skin. "Is this about," Madison paused to recall the name, "Spencer?"

Ashley nodded and shuffled her chair closer to Madison to reduce the distance between them, effectively creating their own little bubble of communication. She looked up almost expecting to see a white speech bubble with indicators stretching from both their mouths. She shook her head and returned to Earth with a bump. Madison raised an eyebrow, her expression speaking volumes.

"She's an incredible kisser!" Ashley blurted out before putting a hand over her mouth. She really hadn't intended to say that. She was planning on playing it cool and giving a mumble about how Spencer was nice, and hot etcetera etcetera. "Really?" Madison's eyebrow rose even higher and Ashley felt the need to elaborate. "We were in Red, and she just kinda developed from the mist, and she looked at me and her eyes... Maddy, it's like looking into the fucking ocean. They're so deep and blue that it's almost like there's no end to it. Sometimes it felt like she was looking right into me, like she could see all of me. And I wanted her to, I wanted her to keep looking just as long as it was into me and not through me. I wanted her to..._see_ me."

Madison sat back, clearly so taken aback that she felt she needed to put physical distance between her and Ashley's smitten, impassioned speech. "Wow," was all she could come up with. She paused and pressed her finger to her lip, "I've never heard you speak like that about a girl."

Ashley chewed her lip, "She's not a girl, she's..." she looked upwards as if hoping that she'd suddenly be granted a pardon from having to say these words, "she's a little older than me. More in the woman category, than the girl one."

Madison cocked her head to the side in an eerily similar impression of Spencer, "And when you say a little you mean...?"

She gave Ashley a pointed look which made it clear she was expected to elaborate. Ashley sighed and wrinkled her nose in displeasure, "Like, 24?"

Madison's eyes widened in such comical shock that Ashley snorted in amusement, pressing her hand against her face to prevent the laughter from burbling out of her mouth. "24 years older?!" Madison hissed at her. Ashley laughed freely, her hand falling away from her mouth and her body shaking a little with the action. "No, no. She _is _24."

Madison looked like she was about to burst, the amount of blood that had rushed to her face and she had appeared to grow in size but Ashley's words, thankfully, seemed to be the antithesis to her impending doom and the Latina's already compact body deflated in her chair, her tanned skin slowly returning to its normal color as she slumped back against the wooden paneled backrest.

"Okay, okay, we can work with that," Madison replied, after taking a few moments to recover. Ashley nodded, secretly pleased that her friend wasn't deterred by Spencer's age. _She could have been a little impressed_, her inner voice remarked snidely.

"What's she like?" Madison leaned in closer to Ashley, taking in her dreamy, goofy expression and the way her entire form seemed to relax, a stark change from its usual rigid structure. Ashley chewed her lip, her thoughts turning inward as she considered 'Spencer'.

"She's," Ashley paused, "she's...amazing," she whispered reverently. "She kissed me and it was like," Ashley sighed wistfully, "it was like, everything was there, yanno? For a second, everything that was crap and worthless about me just disappeared. It felt like it wasn't about wanting me or whatever, it was," she paused, mulling over her words. Madison watched her friend with rapt fascination, her silence a direct result of the almost bashful look on Ashley's face. "It didn't feel like it was about my money, or my body, or my rep or anything. When she kissed me, it felt like," she paused again and blushed, clearly embarrassed by her thoughts. She caught Madison's eye and the encouraging nod she received seemed to instill some courage within her, "it felt like she wanted to _know_ me, not just _have_ me."

Ashley chewed her lip nervously and eyed her friend who seemed a little stunned by her revelation. She watched Madison slump back into her seat, a strange look on her face. "What?" she asked self-consciously, shifting her gaze away from her friend and more towards her fingers. Madison took hold of Ashley's hand and tapped it gently to regain her attention. When their eyes met, one soft gaze and one guarded, they stared at one another, a silent battle of wills occurring amidst the noise of their peers. "I'm just surprised is all. I've never heard you talk about a girl like that. Frankly, you've never talked about _anyone_ like that."

A small silence followed her words and Ashley fought to fill it, her words running into one another in one long rambling, yet passionate speech. "She makes me feel like an idiot and the best of myself all at the same time. But I feel totally out of my depth, caught up in her. Like, like I'm running out of road to travel on or something. I kinda wanna slow down but I don't want to scare her off, to make her think I'm just a dumb, indecisive kid who's messing her around." Ashley's fists were balled up and she was radiating tension, so much so, that Madison almost believed she was vibrating. She leaned forward and pulled Ashley into a hug. She caught Aiden's eye. He seemed to have finally stopped talking and was examining his phone with interest. He leant out of his chair when she gestured with her head that he join in the hug.

Both friends wrapped Ashley in their arms and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as their strength flowed into her. The noise of their fellow classmates continued to erupt around them, their private moment going unnoticed as everyone took advantage of their unsupervised time before the day began in earnest. It wouldn't do to have yet another of Ashley's weaknesses displayed in full few of strangers and members of the student body – kids with access to cell phones and cameras who would upload gossip within seconds of witnessing it. Madison stroked Ashley's hair lovingly and Aiden entwined his strong hand with Ashley's, entwining their fingers together in a supporting grip.

Disaster averted.

* * *

><p>Spencer clapped her hands together. Standing at the front of her classroom she radiated authority, yet her voice rarely rose to a shout. She had earned the trust of her students and they <em>respected <em>her. She knew how important that was, and though she'd never tell them, it meant everything to her. "Alright, class, let's settle down." Her students continued to shuffle into the classroom, until only a slow trickle were left and then the door closed with a quiet click signalling that the final student had entered.

She eyed each and every one of their small eager faces looking up at her as if she held the secrets of the universe. It was power, and she was addicted to it. She loved being able to stand here, or move around the room, opening their minds up to the possibilities of the world; to yank down the curtain of impossibility and unknown and show them that the world was out there. She knew she tended to err on the side of cliché but her students ate up her praise and truly aimed to do better when they received negative criticism.

"Today, we're going to look at questions."

She drew a symbol on the board and tapped it with the cap of her pen. "Can anyone tell me what this is?" She turned around at the slight whooshing of air as a dozen hands shot into the air. She'd taught her class not to speak when raising their hand, informing them that the mere act was enough. Her eyes scanned the front row before calling on a student two rows back, "Yes, Tim?"

Tim, a rather gangly sandy-haired 12 year old ambled to his feet, briefly meeting her eyes with his, "a question mark, Missy," he said, before lowering his gaze shyly and slumping into his chair, his hair falling across his face as soon as he'd sat down as if it couldn't hold itself up any longer.

Spencer smiled fondly at the moniker. When she'd first started teaching at the school, the students had felt she was too young to be called by her full surname. School protocols frowned against students and teachers being on a first name basis so they had compromised with 'Miss C', which, in the mouths of lazy teenagers lacking diction, gradually transformed into "Missy". She accepted it with grace, convinced that some students believed this to be her true name. "That's right, thanks Tim." He nodded his head causing his already floppy hair to cover even more of his face.

"Now, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence," she winked conspiratorially with them and her students smiled back sheepishly, she'd caught a few eye-rolls from her earlier question and got the message loud and clear that she should get to the point. "I just wanted to start out slow and then build up. Evidently, too slow today. My mistake!" she spread her hands in apology and then moved closer to her desk, casually resting her body against it. "So! Now that Tim has helped to reaffirm what a 'question mark' looks like, I'd like to take a look at different types of questions. I thought we'd have a look at two types. But I'll need some help to demonstrate."

She caught the eye of the student nearest her, a thin faced red head with freckles daubed liberally across her pale complexion; though she never wore her hair in pigtails, she always reminded Spencer of a cross between Pippi Longstocking and Anne Shirley. She mentally shook the image away, holding back her smile.

"Alright, Cora. Tell me something you really like." Though the girl recovered quickly, she couldn't hide the surprise on her face at being asked a personal question. A slight blush covered her cheeks as she gave minute shake of her head. '_Probably thinking about a crush_,' Spencer told herself, keeping her eyes on the girl and allowing her to take her time. Cora seemed to come to some conclusion and rose to her feet in one fluid movement, "Harry Potter," she said bashfully, a shy little shrug accompanying her words as if she was apologizing for her answer. Spencer took a few steps forward and patted the Cora on the shoulder as the girl took her seat. "That's just fine, Cora, thank you. There was no right or wrong answer." She smiled disarmingly, and managed to get a small smile in return. Spencer turned back to the class, "Can anyone tell me what kind of question that was?"

A few hands rose and Spencer called on a boy two seats away from Cora, "Okay, Ryan, have at it."

The student got to his feet and mumbled an answer before sitting down again. Spencer's gaze caught his. "I'm sorry, Ryan, I didn't catch that. Would you say it again?" The boy froze in his seat, caught. Silently he rose to his feet and met Spencer's gaze, "Sorry, Missy," he lowered his head in supplication, "I said, it's an open-ended question."

Spencer smiled approvingly, indicating that all was forgiven and he sat down with relief, a small thump resounding around the classroom when he hit the wooden chair. "Absolutely right, Ryan. An open-ended question is just like it sounds; it's a question that's phrased in such a way as to allow the answerer an endless amount of answers. One of the more famous open-ended questions is 'how does that make you feel?' The class giggled in unison at the serious expression Spencer had adopted when she'd asked the question. She strode back towards her desk and, with a small hop, landed atop it and crossed her legs at the knee, relaxing into the pose, her left foot jiggling occasionally in time to a silent beat.

Her eyes roamed the room before landing on a stocky looking, dark haired girl in the third row, who was scribbling furiously in her notebook, her focus entirely on the book. "Alex, what time is it?"

The girl looked up briefly, her eyes landing on her watch before returning to her book. Her mouth opened about to answer before she screwed her eyes tight and let out a small noise of frustration. She closed her notebook and rose to her feet, her eyes meeting Spencer's with a bit of annoyance. "It's two-thirty, Missy." Spencer nodded, and the Alex sat back down. Spencer noted her expression, deciding to hold off on questioning her further and continued with the class. "That's right, Alex, thank you. Can anyone tell me what kind of question that was?"

A lone hand rose, and Spencer realized her class was getting bored. She allowed the student to answer and let him sit back down. _Godsakes, Spence. __**I'm**__ bored!_ Spencer acquiesced to her inner voice and decided to up the pace a bit. "Thanks, Austin. Okay, I get it guys, this is dry but I promise we're building up to the good stuff." She gave them a geeky thumbs up and was successful in making them laugh. She hopped off her desk and moved towards the board but kept her focus on her students. "Okay, so now that we've had that introduction, I can see that you all know more than I thought." She smiled winningly at them, receiving more grins than she expected, but unsure whether it was because they saw through her guise or were just relieved she was letting up. _When in doubt, Spence, praise, praise, praise!_

"I'm really glad you guys have stepped it up and got engaged so now it's your chance to ask me questions." She spotted a glimmer of enthusiasm in a few of her students' eyes and knew that she was onto a winner. "I'm gonna talk to you guys for a few seconds. And then, you have 10 minutes to ask me as many questions as you can," she paused and moved towards the center of the board catching eyes where she could, "after the 10 minutes is up, I want you to write a page or two," groans greeted her and she smiled good-naturedly, "okay, okay, minimum a page," giving them all her best appeasing expression. The nods she received seemed to indicate they were still on her side so continued on, "on the things you've learned from what I've said. There's no test here, I just want to see what you come up with. If you get stuck, try and remember some of the questions that were asked and what I said. If you're still coming up empty, then write a few sample questions that you would have asked, if you'd had the time. Any questions?"

She winced internally. She trusted her teaching ability but putting herself up for the slaughter, metaphorically speaking, always made her cringe. She knew her students liked her but the occasional self-doubt was known to creep into her subconscious, she batted it away, and returned to her class. Spying a hand, she nodded her head and held back the smile when the student stood obediently. It hadn't taken her long, but she was still proud of her enforcement of this basic rule. It meant a lot to her that they gave it a shot, and more oft than not they did it without thinking. She was proud of her kids. They were a great bunch, and gave her pretty much all she asked for, and in return, she tried to give them her everything. _Which includes your attention_, her inner-voice remarked snidely.

"Sorry, Stacy, I spaced out for a second. What did you say?" Titters echoed against the walls and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. The short blonde girl remained standing and spoke again, "I just wanted to know if we were allowed to make any of it up." She sat down again promptly and started doodling on her paper, half an eye on Spencer.

"That's a good question, Stacy, good. Well," she continued as she strolled back to stand in front of Cora. "in answer to your question, yes, you can – to an extent," she paused for a effect before moving to the board and writing 'Harry Potter'. "Earlier, Cora said she liked Harry Potter." Spencer wrote below the name, 'books'. "Harry Potter is a series of novels, or books," she turned back to her class, happy to see that she had engaged them. "So, you could argue that because Cora likes Harry Potter, she implicitly likes books, therefore, if you were writing a sentence, you could say, 'Cora enjoys reading. This is evident to me because she said she likes Harry Potter which is a set of novels.' Now, some might call that 'making it up', but what you're actually doing, is analyzing what Cora said, and drawing a logical conclusion."

She wasn't surprised to see that her students seemed to have got the gist of her little monologue so she ploughed on, "What I'm saying is that if I say something and you can come up with a logical conclusion that resembles what I said, then I'm happy for you to write it down. However, say if we stick with Cora's example, and you said 'Cora likes boys. This is obvious because she said she likes Harry Potter.' While this isn't wrong, because Harry Potter is a boy, the context of this situation suggests she meant the books as opposed to the character." Spencer's gaze and the rest of class met Cora's, who nodded to indicate that Spencer was correct, Spencer gave her a smile.

Spencer clapped her hands to gather their attention. "Well, if there are no more questions," hands remained in laps and so Spencer figured she could go on, "let's get this road on the show." Her class groaned causing Spencer to laugh, "I know, I know, I'm too old to be cool like you guys. Just let me have this one." Amused grins appeared to be her only reply. Spencer took her seat atop her desk again, rocking slowly back and forth in contemplation. She tapped her forefinger against her lip thoughtfully before deciding on a topic. "Okay, a few seconds and then it's up to you guys," receiving nods from her class, Spencer continued, "I met someone last week. We've been spending some time together recently, it's been fun. I laugh a lot when we're together," Spencer smiled wistfully as she thought of soft, brown eyes watching her and then returned her attention to her class who all seemed to be looking at her knowingly, she blushed slightly and stroked a few strands of hair out of her face to distract them. "Well, that's all you get. Go crazy!" She winked and smiled as hands shot up. She glanced at the clock and took the first question.

"Where did you go with them?" Spencer noticed her student's cocky smile when she realized that he'd copied her gender-neutrality. Austin was a sly kid, well-behaved, but sly as a fox.

"We went to lunch," she replied smirking. He gave her a head nod, mouthing 'touché' with a smile. She took another question.

"Where did you meet him?" Spencer tapped the side of her nose and waved her right hand in a cyclical motion, indicating that her student should reconsider what she'd said. Hayden chewed her lip thoughtfully before, clearly, remembering her words; she smiled in apology. She raised her hand again and Spencer allowed her to rephrase. "Where did you meet them?" Spencer nodded approvingly and gave the young girl a quick smile. "Well, and no judgments, guys," she eyed them all with mock-warning holding her hands up in surrender catching amused grins in her wake, "I was out with my brother and best friend at a club." The kids smirked back at her and she shook her fist at them, trying valiantly to hold back a smile. Another hand waved in and out of her peripheral and she indicated that the student should stand. Alice straightened her skirt, removing any wrinkles before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Are they male or female?" Whilst a number of her students had caught on, from the expressions of the others, they hadn't and so it appeared to surprise some of them when Spencer said, "female." A silence seemed to fall over her class and then another hand rose. Spencer took it in her stride, and allowed the student to stand, "Why is it fun?"

Spencer's expression clearly stated that she was taken aback but it didn't prevent her from speaking. She opened her mouth and closed it so that she could properly consider her answer. A warm smile wandered across her face, meandering in and out of every nook and cranny, each muscle pulled sharply to attention, leaping out to be inspected, "That's a good question. It's fun because," she paused again, mulling over her words, "because, she's unexpected. Very unpredictable." The wistful smile returned to Spencer's face and she found herself looking out the window, unaware that her students were both looking at each other and her with smug grins. A bird flew suddenly into her line of sight and she felt her concentration bounce back. Her gaze settling on her students made her blush when she took in their faces. She shook her head exasperatedly but couldn't help the smile on her face. She nodded at a student several seats from her who'd been patiently waiting. A dreamy expression had taken over Sam's face, her soft voice completing the picture of a quiet reflector, "Where did you have lunch?" Spencer could almost see the tall, waif-like girl painting the scene in her head, hearts bouncing about above her head shot from Cupid's bow and arrows.

"A patch of grass overlooking LA," the silence of her students compelled her to carry on. "It was beautiful. We got there around midday and it was so quiet. You'd never know the sounds of the city if you lived up there. She held my hand and we sat talking for hours, and eating, there was definitely eating," Spencer winked at her enraptured students, "it was like watching snapshots of the world set into a slideshow. I sat there wishing it would never end. Just wishing the world could stop around us," Spencer's gaze had traveled to the window again, eyeing the parking lot where Ashley had picked her up and dropped her off. She blushed when she remembered their goodbye.

Another hand caught her eye and she gestured at the student to stand up. Stan was on his feet in seconds, clearly eager to ask his question. Spencer smiled ruefully, she could only imagine.

"What did you eat for lunch with her?" Spencer couldn't contain her laughter and she laughed harder when her class joined in. Stan's family ran a successful restaurant chain and he was quite intense when it came to food. Spencer caught her breath once her laughter had rippled down to an occasional hiccup and focused on Stan who was looking at her impatiently. "She bought Chinese take-out," she saw Stan roll his eyes, "now, Stan. I don't think you truly understand. It was practically a buffet. You name it, it was there. And then! Homemade brownies," the grin on Spencer's face said it all. "I'm serious, Stan. These things were a work of art. Molten chocolate solidified into little bricks of Heaven. I think I've found the new Ambrosia!" Her class couldn't help but smile along with her. Stan rolled his eyes again but smiled along with his classmates. Spencer's energy was infectious, and often her class found themselves tied to a raft of her enthusiasm and battling the rapids of her emotions right along with her, laughter occasionally splashing over them, leaving them with giggling shakes, her quirky sense of humor jerking them left and right until they weren't always sure where they were going, just that they were taking a journey with her. And they were glad to cling on and enjoy the ride.

"Alright young adults," Spencer's students exchanged exasperated smiles, "I've given you enough to go on. Hand your work into me at the end of class. Hop to it!" She made shooing motions and slide off her desk, walking over to the board she raised her pen and began to write. "This is your homework. Please write it down before you go. No excuses!" Her class groaned good-naturedly but returned quickly to their work, the sound of nibs attacking loose-leaf filled the room and for a moment, Spencer allowed herself a daydream. She sat behind her desk and rest her head on her hand, drifting into an Ashley filled thought bubble, Ashley's strong arms wrapping around her body and pulling her into the haze, her raspy tone tickling Spencer's eardrums as she spoke softly about absolutely nothing.

* * *

><p>Ashley twisted her fingers in the air, curling them around an imaginary phone cord. Not for the first time, she wished that she didn't have a cordless phone. It just seemed something that was highly appropriate for phone conversations. Not that she spent that much time on the phone, nor did she often, more like <em>ever<em>, have conversations with people that made her feel like this, but all the same – it seemed necessary. She dismissed her thoughts with a wave of her hand as she impatiently listened to the dial tone chiming against her ear. Suddenly it was replaced by a breathless, "Hello? Spencer speaking."

She smiled reflexively and chewed her lip, already feeling the beginning of a blush creeping across her face, "Hello, Ashley replying."

Spencer's answering giggle made her sigh softly, her grin widening. _God, she's incredible_.

"Oh, Ashley! Hey, hello."

"You already said that," Ashley teased, smirking because she'd successfully managed to catch Spencer off-guard.

"Yes, yes I did. And now I feel like an idiot. Thanks," Spencer's dry reply only increased Ashley's self-satisfied smirk, "you're rather pleased with yourself, right now, aren't you?"

Ashley chuckled lowly, "yes, rather, I must say."

"Oh must you? Upon whose command?"

"Why, on yours. You questioned. I replied. Therefore, I must."

"That's a completely nonsensical argument, you know."

"I know no such thing; I rank myself amongst genii like Dr. Seuss."

"You drive me insane."

"I try."

"I know you do. Although I think you meant 'I'm trying'."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Think yourself to be all-knowing, do you?"

"I wouldn't say _all_-knowing, but _fairly_ knowing."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"I know something you don't know," Ashley sing-songed.

Spencer huffed loudly in exasperation, "I won't even dignify that with a response. I teach kids, remember?"

"_I know_," Ashley paused and her voice reduced itself to the shy tone Spencer had come to recognize as quintessentially Ashley, "that I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

Spencer gasped softly in reply, her head tilting as a pleased smile fell across her face. A light blush coated her cheeks and she closed her eyes, imagining the expression on Ashley's face, "you're right. I didn't know that."

Ashley wrinkled her nose and pressed the receiver closer to her ear, "now, you do."

Spencer let a small silence settle around them before breaking it; she found herself wanting to revel in Ashley's shy proclamation for longer than was seemly, especially during a phone conversation.

"You're incredibly sweet, Ashley," Spencer rubbed her neck awkwardly, trying to tamp down the temptation to sound like an idiot, "I spent an embarrassingly long amount of time thinking about our kiss," she confessed, her voice tapering off to almost a whisper. At the word kiss, Ashley blushed. Her mind suddenly recalled the pseudo soft-pornographic scene she'd been imagining just that morning before she'd been rudely interrupted. _No need to tell Spencer that,_ her inner voice warned sharply.

"Me too," came the whispered reply. Ashley didn't know why she was whispering. Her mom still hadn't returned from work and Marta had long gone home. Although it was irrational, she didn't feel all that comfortable letting her thoughts loose on the world. She wanted to save these special moments just for Spencer, at least until they both felt secure in letting other people invade their..._thing_. She rolled her eyes. It wasn't sufficient, but it would do in a pinch.

"Do you want to meet me for coffee? If you're not busy, that is." Spencer eyed the large pile of marking on her desk and sighed, "I mean, I have a crazy amount of marking to get through but I usually do it at this little cafe. It's not far from my house, and it's pretty casual. I know you wanted to meet on Wednesday but this could be like" she paused, "pre-date preparation, if you like," she paused again, "I'm rambling. I'm sorry." Ashley's replying throaty chuckle surrounded her and warmed her body to the core, like enshrouding yourself with a blanket whilst watching the sunset on a breezy night.

"Can I take that as a yes?"

"It depends," Ashley replied, chewing her lip nervously.

"On?"

"Is it a date?" Spencer smiled unconsciously, her head coming to rest on her upraised her hand.

"Well, it could be. I'm not so sure."

"On?" Ashley parroted back, a teasing smile hovering at the corner of her slightly upturned lips.

"What your answer is, of course." Ashley laughed unreservedly, finding herself leaning even closer into the phone, utterly under Spencer's spell. "So, you're telling me, that, hypothetically speaking,"

"Oh, of course, hypothetically speaking," Spencer mocked.

"_Hypothetically speaking_," Ashley reiterated whilst Spencer rolled her eyes despite her evident amusement, "if I were to say yes, it would be a date. But, on the incredibly unlikely, and utterly nigh impossible, chance that I was to say no, it wouldn't be a date. Have I got that right?"

"Hypothetically speaking?"

"Yes, yes, I thought that was obvious,"

"Now, now, no need to get shirty."

"Shirty? No. Handsy? With you? Totally." Spencer blushed and rolled her eyes again.

"_Hypothetically speaking_," she stressed again causing Ashley to reply with her own eye roll, "yes. That's the gist of it."

"Why does it matter if I consider it a date or not?" Ashley worried at her lip, the blush creeping up her neck was gradually starting to fade but she doubted that would last long. Her confidence with Spencer came in dribs and drabs but the reality was that it only took a few well chosen words from Spencer to make her skin look like someone had thrown a vat of boiling water over her. She shuddered at the mental image. _Fuck, that'd be hot_. She kicked inner self inwardly, she knew that was coming. _Of course_, _you're me, genius_. She rolled her eyes in reply.

"Oh it matters, _a lot_," Spencer's eyes sparkled, "if it were a date, then I wouldn't feel bad about how much I'm looking forward to kissing you goodnight," she paused thoughtfully, and playfully tapped her chin with her forefinger. "However, if it wasn't a date, then I'd spend the whole time trying not to touch you more than a casual...acquaintance would," Spencer's voice was practically purring by now and Ashley sank deeper into her desk chair, her body moulding against the varnished wood. She felt very warm, suddenly, a flush that was most definitely not a blush seemed to start from her neck and ignite every body part from there down to the one between her thighs. She clenched them quickly.

"It'd be very difficult," Spencer continued, her sultry tone warming to the topic with every word uttered, still appearing as casual as if she was remarking about the recent spike in temperature, "I'd find ways to orchestrate little touches that could easily be misconstrued as friendly, but in my head, well," she chuckled darkly, "there'd be some decidedly _un_friendly thoughts playing."

Ashley gulped loudly and then coughed immediately in an attempt to cover it up. She fanned herself quickly, dramatically flapping her hand back and forth her fingers flailing at the knuckles. She stopped just as quickly because she felt like an idiot. "I guess all that remains is, would you like to meet me for coffee?" Spencer's words had barely left her mouth before Ashley replied hurriedly, "Yes! I mean," she paused trying to sound less desperate than she knew she was, "yeah, I would."

"By saying yes, you're agreeing to go on a date with me. Again. I'm just checking you understand that. Last time there seemed to be some confusion," Spencer teased.

"I'd love to go on another date with you, Spencer," Ashley replied, and then shyly but courageously soldiered on, "I had fun yesterday."

Spencer smiled genuinely in reply, "so did I. That's why I'm so eager to go on a date with you, again," she chuckled wryly, "I mean, it _is_ a little desperate on my part. Thanks for not making fun of my lame 'pre-date preparation' line."

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I broke the record for quickest 'yes' to a date, ever. So we're even," she scratched at her arm self-consciously, feeling that pesky persistent blush crawling towards her hairline.

"I thought it was cute."

"Desperate, cute. Regular synonyms, these days."

"Honestly, not two I've come across but I'll bear that in mind."

"Clearly you haven't received your Oxford 2013 dictionary. I pre-ordered mine. Couldn't face the queues at midnight when it came out," Ashley returned snidely, she stuck her tongue out towards the phone but she quickly withdrew it when she realized the action would be completely lost on Spencer.

"Oh, well, that's your problem right there. I'm a Collins girl, myself," Ashley gasped loudly, her hand pressed against her chest dramatically.

"Say it ain't so, Spencer!"

"I'm afraid so, Ashley. Do you think this is something we can just agree to disagree on?" Ashley tutted loudly and gave a contemplative, "Well," before loudly sighing. "I guess," she replied, begrudgingly. "It helps that you're gorgeous." Spencer sat back in her chair feeling her heart fluttering in an almost alarming fashion. '_What is this girl doing to me?'_ After a beat, she felt her heart slow a little and she felt stable enough to reply, "I know you only said that to flatter me into accepting an Oxford girl as my date," her light tone belying the way her body was still refusing to calm down.

"I said it because it's true, Spencer," Ashley replied, her voice a lot steadier and calmer than she felt. "It isn't a give-and-take, democracy type thing. I just wanted you to know that I think you're gorgeous and me, being me," she murmured self-deprecatingly, "that was the first way I felt I could say it so that you'd hear it."

Spencer blushed prettily and smiled coyly at her stapler. Feeling stupid for eyeing a piece of office ware with such affection she let her eyes roam her empty classroom before conceding and simply closing her eyes, Ashley's image appearing behind her eyelids. "Thank you, Ashley," Spencer replied sincerely. "I know I've said it before, but you're very sweet."

Ashley blushed, naturally, but decided to ignore it in favor of focusing on Spencer's words, "you're very welcome, Spencer."

"Ashley!" Ashley returned quickly to reality as she heard her mom's voice call out, the heavy front door slamming loudly behind her entrance into the foyer.

"I should go. My mom just got back and she likes to have a kitchen pow wow." Spencer snorted loudly and opened her eyes, pushing her body into a suitable seated position.

"Okay, well, I'll text you the address, or do these pow wows end in both of you being stoned out of your minds on peyote?" Ashley rolled her eyes fondly and stood up as she headed towards the door.

"Not usually, but who knows? It's Monday. Strange shit goes down on Monday." Spencer nodded sagely, "Indeed, indeed. What time is good for you? I wouldn't want to end the tribal council earlier than necessary."

"Spencer, don't be silly. This isn't Survivor."

"How weird would it be if Jeff Probst was in your kitchen?"

"I know, right? Have you noticed how creepily blue his eyes are? I mean yours are incredible, but his are just like," Ashley bugged her eyes out and waved her hands in a non-descript fashion, "baby's tears. Johnson's baby products style tears."

"Exactly."

Ashley glanced at her wrist, making a mental note of the hands on the clock-face, "Is 6:30 good for you?" Spencer performed a similar gesture and considered her to-do list. "Yeah, that should be fine," she sighed in realization that their phone call was coming to an end. She rolled her eyes at her irrationality, given that she had just confirmed to meet Ashley in less than two hours. "So, I'll see you soon?"

"Sounds like it."

"Try not to get your life essence extinguished."

"I'll do my best."

Unbeknownst to either woman, they both stared exasperatedly at their phones, each hoping the other would end the conversation. "I can see where this is going. To cut what would be an entirely pleasurable game of 'You hang up – No you hang up' short, on 3?"

"'Kay. See you soon."

"3," they both said together. The silence on the other end of Ashley's receiver caused her to look at it in tempered frustration. "Completely irrational," she muttered to herself. Having reached the end of the stairwell, she turned into the kitchen, tucking her phone into her pocket. Her mother looked up at the sound of Ashley's bare feet slapping rhythmically against the tile.

"Hello, sweetness. How was your day?"

Christine Davies was an attractive woman with long, dark brown hair; friendly, chestnut colored eyes and lightly tanned skin. Her age was not all that apparent on her face, nor was it obvious that she was old enough to be the mother of an eighteen year old. Small crinkles at the corners of her eyes spoke volumes about her easy smile and bubbly personality, the twinkle in her eye was a clear testament to Ashley's magnetic presence. Her dark brown hair had loosened from the precarious bun that was usually perched upon her head, probably from distractedly rifling through it as she read a client's file. She wobbled on the breakfast bar stool slightly, balancing her heels on the lowest rung and raising her body in the air to greet her daughter. An affectionate smile crossed her face as Ashley leant into the embrace, pressing her mother safely back onto the wicker matting.

"Not too bad," Ashley replied, releasing her mother and pressing a kiss against her cheek before heading towards the refrigerator. She pulled the chrome handled door open and allowed the blast of artificially cooled hair to hit her face, the blush from her conversation with Spencer still lingering.

"Were you talking to Aiden?" Ashley ducked her head around the door of the fridge.

"Today? Yeah, of course," she eyed her mother oddly before returning to examine the contents of the drinks shelf. She grabbed a bottle of water and closed the door by knocking her back heavily against it. Christine looked up at her only daughter, the affectionate look still in her eye.

"No, Ash. When I walked in, I heard you talking to someone. Imaginary friend, perhaps?" she teased. The mischievous look in her eye was identical to the glint that often crossed Ashley's eyes. Ashley blushed and immediately regretted it. Her mother's sharp eyes caught the discoloration to her skin immediately and a perfectly manicured eyebrow rose slowly. "Oh, really?" she questioned, unnecessarily. Ashley rolled her eyes and huffed exasperatedly, "yes, Mother, really."

Christine beamed, and, for the second time that day, Ashley became convinced a squee was going to erupt from a person's body, especially with the way her mother was squirming on the stool, her body gyrating in a way that was entirely inappropriate for a woman her age. She looked just like Aiden had this morning. Her mother was the only person she knew who could look equally dignified and ridiculous. _For God's sake. Stop being so goddamn obvious!_ Her inner voice commanded. "Oy vey," Ashley muttered.

Her mom leaned forward with a conspiratorial air, pressing her elbows against the kitchen counter, "so," she drawled, a maniacal grin transforming her face to something that would not have been out of place at a run-down carnival, "tell me about her," her head bobbing incessantly up and down only increasing the level of discomfort in her daughter. "Mom," Ashley held her hand up, "no. Just no. It's not happening."

She waved her hands in her mother's direction emphatically, "you, Aid and Maddy can get together and yammer away all you like about me and," she paused and rolled her eyes instinctively when her mother moved even more forward, perching herself precariously on the edge of the already unstable stool, her eyes shining eagerly, her head still bobbing up and down like some deranged wind-up toy. "Okay, you're gonna have to stop doing," Ashley waved a hand again using her index finger to circulate her mother's face, "that because you look insane. Like seriously, go audition for a Chucky remake or something."

Christine settled herself back into her seat, a disappointed look crossing her face and the beginnings of a pout forming. She folded her arms childishly but quickly lowered them when she caught sight of the look on Ashley's face. "Alright, alright, I'll stop. I'm just interested, honey. You seem," she hesitated and bit her lip, "happy," she murmured softly. "It was nice to see you look happy."

Ashley leant against the counter, tapping the top of her water bashfully. A tiny blush tiptoed across her cheeks, "Okay," she mumbled, "thanks." Her gaze stayed pointedly on her bottle cap and Christine got the message. She cast a final fond glance over her daughter before returning to perusing her client's file. There was silence in the kitchen, interrupted only by the gentle whirring of the fridge's cooling system and Ashley's fingernails tapping against her water bottle. Occasionally, Christine's pen scratching across a page disturbed the solitude and so, it was to Christine's surprise, that after a few moments she caught her daughter's voice mumbling a few words, "her name's Spencer." Ashley's bare feet slip slapped against the tile as she left the kitchen. Christine looked over her shoulder at her daughter's retreating form and smiled contentedly, the expression staying on her face even as her eyes started tracing the words on the page in front of her.

* * *

><p>Ashley glanced at her phone's screen for the third time in the past few minutes and looked up, again, at the corresponding street sign. It was a perfect match. Despite this, sweat was beading on both her palms which she rubbed nervously against her jeans; the action was about as successful as peddling cock rings at a lesbian bar. <em>Stop rubbing your leg, you look like you have a problem. Well, other than being a complete and utter moron.<em> Ashley rolled her eyes reflexively; her inner voice was never all that complimentary. She eyed the street sign again and then rolled her shoulders, pulled herself up to her full height and attempted to exude her usual air of confidence. Taking a deep breath, she walked a few steps and found herself facing an attractive, chic coffee shop.

A midnight blue colored special's A board stood propped outside, boasting the latest coffee trends and the house specialties. Skeptical brown eyes traveled over the architecture of the fairly non-descript, one story building standing in front of her, taking in the quaint, small lettered sign, inviting patrons to partake their caffeine hit at 'Cerulean'. Matching its name, a gentle, sea-blue wash of paint covered the plywood foundation and structure, a lighter blue coating the door which was open thereby allowing a wash of gentle Latin music to lap at her ankles as it seeped out into the air. Soft lighting captured her eyes and a flash of blonde hair seemed to beckon her towards a corner of the store. A thick odor of coffee beans and sugary pastries struck her full frontal in the face, making her step back slightly at its power. She hesitated at the door, one foot hovering over the threshold. The barista had either sensed someone at the doorway, or maybe it was just one of those things, because she looked up and caught Ashley's eye, a bright smile enrapturing her face like a burst of moonlight and Ashley found her courage bolstered as she stepped into the shop. Her head scanned the room but she knew where Spencer was, it was like a magnetic pull was drawing her body towards the corner and she found herself yet again awkwardly wiping her hands down her jeans. She took a deep breath but, much to her embarrassment, breathed too fast, too slow or inhaled some contagion, because she found herself coughing loudly, her hand curling into a fist as she sought to cover her mouth.

Spencer broke out of her Ashley reverie, her half assed attempt at marking Cora's essay laying in front of her, at the sound of someone undergoing a coughing fit. When it didn't stop after a few seconds, she looked over her shoulder, her eyes falling immediately on Ashley's body wracked with convulsions. _And not in the hot way_. She stood up immediately, crossing the floor quickly and began to rub Ashley's back soothingly. Gratefully she accepted the glass of water from the barista with a worried smile.

"Ashley? I've got some water here; do you think you can drink it?" What sounded like a groan, broken by a quick cough, was emitted and Ashley tried to straighten herself, her face red with the effort of coughing – or from blushing. She really couldn't tell. Slowly Ashley's muscles relaxed; after a few sips of water she felt capable of dragging her gaze upwards to meet Spencer's concerned baby blue eyes. A small smile was tugging at the corners of the blonde's lips and Ashley felt herself unable to repress her own in reply. Spencer looped her arm through Ashley's and guided her towards the table she'd been occupying. She elbowed the brunette gently before reclaiming her seat, "You're _so_ dramatic, Ashley. Jeez. You didn't have to go to all that effort to get my attention," she teased. Ashley felt rolling her eyes was completely warranted so she gave into the impulse as she took her seat.

"What_ever_, Spencer. I almost died," she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out as far as possible, blinking her eyes rapidly.

"Seriously? You're pulling _that_ act?" Ashley shrugged, smiling innocently and widening her eyes to make them all the more expressive.

"You're ridiculous."

Ashley shrugged again and smiled, "It was worth a shot."

Spencer eyed the brunette's hand that was resting oh-so casually on the edge of the table; as casually as she could, which wasn't really all that casual given that her tongue was poking out of the corner of her lips and her eyes maintained contact with where Ashley's hand was on the table, she crept her hand across the table and laid it over Ashley's. This entire adventure was lost on Ashley until Spencer's skin was touching hers because she was fascinated with the sight of Spencer's tongue struggling to stay within its confines. Ashley jerked slightly in her chair and blushed swiftly. Her eyes met Spencer's and she melted into a puddle of gooey mess when Spencer's head tilted slightly to the side, a shy look on her face.

Ashley turned her palm upwards and entangled Spencer's fingers with hers.

"Hey," she murmured huskily, biting her lip nervously, "I forgot to say that, what with the whole coughing thing," she trailed off and ducked her head briefly, her eyes eventually rising to meet Spencer's. Spencer beamed right back at her, stroking Ashley's hand unconsciously. "Hey, back," she replied, smiling wider when Ashley smiled back, "thanks for coming."

"Thanks for asking," Ashley replied, stroking Spencer's thumb slowly. They spent several moments just looking at each other, blushing but smiling, happy to just be in each other's orbit with no distractions or interruptions. Spencer sighed happily and leaning to the side to rest her hand on her palm, her eyes still on Ashley. Her eye caught a sheet of A4 with a 'B-' scrawled across atop its right hand corner in red marker. Ashley's gaze followed hers and she examined the paper with interest. She raised an eyebrow, trying unobtrusively to read the words of what appeared to be an essay from one of Spencer's students. Her free hand twitched with a simple, childish curious desire to stretch out and drag the paper towards her. Hell, the whole pile! Spencer sighed and gestured with her head towards the pile that had captured Ashley's attention so efficiently, "marking's a real bitch."

Ashley nodded in a manner which she hoped was sufficiently sympathetic, "tell me about it. The red marker of judgement must weigh heavily in your small hand," a manner that was completely refuted by the sarcastic tone dripping from her words. Spencer raised an eyebrow, "you mock me in my time of strife?"

Ashley's expression affected a solemn air, "I do what is necessary, for the good of the nation," she pumped her fist into the air, "for liberty, for equality, for brotherhood!"

"Alright, Marianne, simmer down," Spencer shook her head in amusement, "first of all, we're not in France. Second of all, there's no need for a second of all because we're not in France."

"I'm very passionate politically. I love a good cause."

"That may be so, but that ship has sailed. I'm pretty sure they're happily chilling in Paris feeling very liberal, equal and brotherly, so you can put the poster board down."

"Must you ruin all my passions?"

"Yes, yes, I must. It's in the contract I signed before you got here."

"Was it witnessed?"

"Mmmhmm, and authorised by a Justice of the Peace."

"Well, in that case," Ashley sighed dramatically, "I can hardly argue with that. Well played, sir."

Spencer laughed loudly, giving Ashley an affectionate look once her laughter had subsided, "Has anyone ever told you that you are truly a wondrous being?"

Ashley blushed and shook her head, "Uhmm no, not that I recall."

"More fool them. You're incredible."

"Is that a compliment?"

"The first of many," Spencer smirked and Ashley's blush intensified.

Several minutes, that might well have been hours, passed in silence as their gazes locked. Spencer shook herself out of their moment and took a sip of her coffee as she sought to extend their conversation. Looking down at her cup caused her to realized that Ashley had yet to purchase anything. She gestured towards the barista who was idly staring at her fingernails behind the counter, "you should get something. They make really awesome coffee," she smiled encouragingly. Ashley shook her head to clear the cobwebs of her Spencer haze and returned to reality with a bump.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess that would make sense," she stroked a fingertip across Spencer's palm and abruptly stood up, heading towards the counter, her hand tapping nervously against her pocket. Spencer watched her leave and her eyes focused intently on the younger woman's perfect form nonchalantly strolling away.

"Damn," she whispered to herself. _Agreed_, her inner voice concurred, _damn indeed_, "it should be illegal for someone to be that attractive but that unaware," she contemplated Ashley's physicality once more before blushing when her thoughts immediately started to derail into X-rated territory. _And you're talking to yourself. Let's prioritize here_, her inner voice reminded her. She nodded inwardly and forced herself to turn her attention back to her student's papers but try as she might she found her gaze travelling back to the counter. Spencer watched Ashley gesture emphatically to the barista, pointing at the specials board outside and nodding enthusiastically, her body pressed firmly against the mahogany counter, elongating her short stature and highlighting her posterior most prominently. Spencer rested her head on her hand and sighed happily – her thoughts of Cora's essay had completely dissipated, just like any and all resolve around Ashley.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Spencer snapped out of her reverie and eyed the approaching Ashley with a raised eyebrow in an attempt to seem smooth.

"You couldn't afford my thoughts. Don't flaunt your funny money here, bucko."

Ashley reared back dramatically, maintaining a solid grip on her coffee all the while, and covered her chest with her free hand as she gasped theatrically, "Spencer, my money is good quality, hard earned American bucks. How very dare you?!"

"I dare easily."

"Must you? Won't you dare with difficulty? At least make it easy on a girl."

"Easy is for pussies."

Both women hesitated and Spencer held her hand up quickly.

"Don't. Don't say it. _Too_ easy."

"Like you then?

"Ashley! You wound me."

"Do I? Great. I know first aid. Any chance you need CPR?"

Ashley smirked and gave Spencer a sly wink as she took her seat at the table, placing her coffee carefully on the table. Spencer bit her lip nonchalantly in an effort to prevent the smile that tickled at the corners of her lips.

"Maybe, but I'll need to see your qualifications."

"Oh Spencer, you sauce pot!" Ashley replied in a fairly passable Southern accent, her hand flapped coquettishly in front of Spencer, "Whatever will my father say?"

"I don't know, I'm not a mind reader."

"You're no fun."

Spencer began fluttering eyelashes bashfully and eyed Ashley with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Quite the contrary, I'm _plenty_ fun."

"Pictures, or it didn't happen."

"How 'bout I put my mouth where... Actually, where would you like my mouth?"

Ashley's mouth felt dry all of a sudden and she took a deep gulp of her coffee in order to provide her mouth with some much needed moisture. Unfortunately, it seemed to bypass her attention that the coffee had been freshly brewed, and as such was still scalding hot. Her mouth flapped open dramatically, "Yeow! Jesus H. Christ! What is that, 6 alarm chili?"

She began fanning her mouth and hissed lowly, "Water, water!"

Her eyes widened as the pain seemed to spread further into her mouth and she became convinced she was about to die of tongue burn or heat mouth – '_or whatever this blasted condition is called!'_ She screamed at herself mentally.

For her part, Spencer stared at Ashley in horror, watching her friend's decline into dramatics but leapt into action once she realized she had yet to move. She grabbed at the water glass from Ashley's earlier coughing fit and shoved in front of Ashley's face. _Damn, she's accident prone. Hot, but nearing the 'hot but hot mess' category_, her inner voice snarked.

"Drink this. Go on. No, don't gulp it. Sip at it slowly." Spencer wrapped her around Ashley's shaking shoulders and gently pressed the lip of the glass against Ashley's with an encouraging smile. Eventually Ashley's body seemed to ease itself out of the spasmodic spasm phase and Spencer smiled shyly when she heard Ashley mumble softly, "Why do I always make such an idiot of myself in front of you?"

The blonde found herself shrugging one shoulder and nudged Ashley with the other good-naturedly, keeping the encouraging smile on her face, "I actually think it's pretty cute that you're such a dork."

Despite the circumstances, Ashley still found it within her to blush and she fought like crazy to stop herself from leaning further into Spencer's _very_ comforting embrace. Spencer's hand stroked Ashley's shoulder absent-mindedly and she sent a shiver running down Ashley's spine when she pressed a gentle kiss to the brunette's hair. Ashley sighed and turned to catch Spencer's eye, "I suppose dork is better than idiot."

"Much."

Spencer leaned in closer to Ashley, as it suddenly occurred to her how close they already they were, and whispered conspiratorially into her ear, "I'd never kiss an..." her eyes widened as she attempted to survey the entire coffee shop as inconspicuously as possible, "idiot. A dork on the other hand..."

Their eyes met again and Ashley found herself smiling widely at the imploring look in Spencer's eye and then she found herself wincing reflexively. Spencer chewed her lip nervously and then straightened her posture as if she had suddenly become emboldened by Ashley's weakness.

"How 'bout I kiss it better?"

To Ashley, it seemed a foregone conclusion but she found herself nodding needlessly all the same as Spencer leant in and pressed her lips against Ashley's. All too soon, their lips separately and Ashley desperately tried to contain the whimper the rose up inside her at the separation, the shortness of the connection – hell, everything!

"How's that?"

Ashley's eyes had closed involuntarily when Spencer had kissed her and they were still closed despite Spencer having pulled back. Ashley's eyelids fluttered as if she was trying to cling on to the kiss that had been so fleeting. Her voice croaked and she coughed slightly to cover it up, "Think it's still pretty bad. You should maybe..."

Spencer didn't need much more encouragement. She leant in and allowed their lips to re-establish their connection. Ashley's soft lips enveloped hers in a comforting embrace and Spencer realized that there was no moving away, she allowed Ashley to lead her into this dance that she had suddenly found herself in the middle of without even realizing that the music had started. Spencer let her hand rest gently on Ashley's thigh, caressing the rough denim as gently as if she was feeling Ashley's soft skin beneath her fingertips. Ashley gave as good as she got and leaned further into the hold Spencer had wrapped her in, lithely stroking her tongue against Spencer's lower lip, she felt emboldened when Spencer leaned closer and opened her mouth in a gasp. One playful nip later and Ashley realized she wouldn't be able to go back. Her thoughts from that morning seemed to pale in comparison to the desire flaring up in her stomach and she allowed them to dissipate from her mind in favor of memorizing the quiet whimpers Spencer made when their hands met, or the soft mewls of appreciation one of them emitted when their tongues started dancing together, a playful game of tag ensuing.

The barista looked over to the corner where the blonde and the brunette sat wrapped up in each other, literally, their eyes closed in mutual bliss and their hands moving slowly and tentatively across clothing and skin that had already been bared. She rolled her eyes and sighed dejectedly as she realized that she didn't stand a chance with either of the hot women she had tried to make a play for that night. She turned to face the door, fixing her expression from the wistful hope she'd held at the idea that the brunette (or the blonde) might have been interested in more than just coffee to one of welcome as she automatically ran a wet rag across the counter to catch any spills.


End file.
